Yukari's Errands
by Wrathkal
Summary: SHAMELESS SELF-INSERT! An OC living in Gensokyo thanks to Yukari finds himself running errands for her outside. CURRENT CROSSOVER: TOUHOU/MHF2
1. BENTO: Gensokyo Dog

**WARNING: THIS IS A SHAMELESS SELF-INSERT FEATURING AN ORIGINAL CHARACTER FROM ANOTHER OF THE AUTHOR'S STORIES, AND THUS IS NOT RECOMMENDED TO BE READ WITHOUT SOME PRE-KNOWLEDGE OF TOUHOU PROJECT. (A bit of information will be provided still)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Touhou Project, nor do I own Ben-To. The only thing I own is my original character. And he blatantly uses references that he doesn't own either.**

* * *

><p>"Ikuto, I hear you're looking for some challenge." Yukari surprises me with that greeting, appearing out of one of her gaps to do so.<p>

"How the heck did you find out about that?"

She winks in that aggravating manner that makes me want to slap her. Of course, she probably knows that, and I know that she knows, so there's no point in even trying. Besides, the Youkai (1) of the Boundaries can block or retaliate before I even get anywhere close to hitting her.

So let's recap a little. I came to the Touhou world of Gensokyo about nine months ago thanks to the person floating before me, and went along with her condition of staying with each party for a certain time. Being not too fond of my mundane life, I left it behind me and took the name Ikuto. Currently, I'm staying at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, the residence of a cute but deadly vampire known as the Scarlet Devil, and have been for around two months already.

During that time, I've been training in the art of fighting under her servants, occasionally testing my dodging skills against the mistress herself. And I'm getting pretty good, even if my opponents trash me nearly all the time.

But with strength comes the desire to actually test it out. I know I've whacked a few real enemies before, like that huge bear I ran into when I got abandoned in the wilds, but fighting a wild animal isn't the same as fighting humans. Which is clearly the matter Yukari has come about.

"So... what do you have in mind?" I continue, knowing she won't answer my earlier question. _She probably peeked as usual._

"Something simple... but it is still early at this point of time. I'll come again later this evening." Yukari starts to slip back into her gap, but stops. "Oh, and avoid having dinner here, if you would? It'll be my treat."

Confused, I just nod and watch her slip out of existence. _Yukari offering to treat me to a meal... how rare. This is suspicious. _I get up and head back into the mansion to let the inhabitants know. The maid's cooking is good, but I have to admit, Yukari has stirred my curiosity.

* * *

><p>"Dammit, Yukari." I growl at the unmoved youkai from my position on the ground. "Don't open a gap under me like that!"<p>

Just moments ago, I was talking to Remilia Scarlet, the mistress of the mansion. As I rose up to get some tea, the ground suddenly vanished from beneath my feet, and I landed down in...

I look around. "Where is this place?"

It looks like a recreation room, the kind one would find... My eyes widen.

I bolt up and dash over to the window. Whitewashed buildings, telephone poles and lampposts, a skyline broken in many places by Western-style structures. This wasn't Gensokyo. This was the outside world. And I was in a school. A school's clubroom, to be exact. Judging by the color of the sky, it's early evening, which explains why there's no one else besides us.

"Yes, that's right. You're currently outside Gensokyo." Yukari informs me from behind.

"Okayyy... so what exactly is up with this place? Considering the beach you brought me to, I suppose this isn't actually my world, is it?"

White-clad shoulders rise in a mild shrug. "Who knows...?"

Gritting my teeth, I look around at the clubroom. Shoe rack, metal cupboard, a board with a map on it, mini-fridge, microwave on top of mini-fridge, large wooden table in center with a carpet underneath, chairs in the corner, and... I approach the wall across from the board. What I thought was an odd wallpaper design is actually hundreds of red-yellow stickers of various shapes, slightly overlapping, covering nearly the entire stretch. And they all have the same words on them.

"Half-price?" I read. _These... are all half-price stickers? The sort that Japanese stores stick on store-sold food after some time?_

"That's right." A tapping noise draws my attention.

I turn around to see Yukari tapping at the map board with her closed fan, and approach. It's a typical road map, showing the streets around buildings, the railroad passing through the area of the neighborhood, and the main road. But what catches my attention are the handwritten words in marker on them, listing shop... nicknames and a certain time. A quick glance at the clock in the room tells me that it's still half an hour or so before the earliest of them.

"This is where we are." The tip of her fan rests on a darker area with a few even darker rectangle inside.

"Karasuda High School? So what are we trespassing for?" I'm trying to puzzle out what Yukari is doing here. _Times... shops... all those half-price stickers... they're nearly adding up. Just a bit more time._

"This is a map of the west side of this city we're in," Yukari begins, "As you may have guessed, these are the shops that sell bentos (2), and the time written there...," She taps a few of the circled text with her fan, "Indicates the approximate time they go on half-price discount."

"Uh huh." _Damn, she explained it first. _"But I still don't see what this is all..." I look over my shoulder at the wall. "Wait... you want me to get you the stickers? Why don't you just steal it like you always do?"

"Not just any sticker." She walks over to a nearby cabinet and opens the door. "Look at these." Yukari turns around and hands me the book she had taken out.

I blink at the scrapbook in my hand. Inside is filled with various stickers, shaped and colored differently from the ones on the wall, though the 'Half-Price' text is still present. Beneath each one is a name and a date written in pen.

"Yuu Kaneshiro, Yuu Kaneshiro, Sen Yarizui, Sen Yarizui." I flip through the pages, reading the names. _Yukari's translation trick is still working, I see. The family name comes behind instead of in front to me._

"As you can see, those stickers are different. I want those."

I goggle at the gap youkai. "You, collect stickers? What the heck?"

She doesn't look bothered in the least. "Of course, for some things, there's no meaning in just taking them. They have to be earned."

A frown crosses my face. "Between the act of just taking them, and the act of sending me to get them for you... are you even earning them in the first place?"

She thumps me on the head with her fan. "Don't give me your lip. I want you to get me these stickers."

I open my mouth to say something, but my stomach lets out an audible growl. "Can we get some food first?"

"No." Yukari tells me firmly. "There is something about this place that differentiates it from the others."

"Like what? Just spill everything already." I say with some frustration.

"First, put these on." Yukari gaps in some thin black gloves, and hands them to me.

I comply, drawing the smooth and comfortable fabric over my hands. "So... what are these?"

"You're going to be fighting. Those," She indicates the gloves with a pointed finger, "Are so that you won't end up killing anyone by mistake. The people here are much hardier than the norm, but not enough to survive against a heavy blow from you."

"Fighting, and half-priced food? This doesn't make sense, Yukari." I practice a few shadow punches. "And besides, with what Meiling has been teaching me, just covering my hands won't be enough."

"It will."

I recall the extent of her abilities. "Oh, right. That. But I still don't get how fighting and sticker collecting are related."

"Perhaps you should see for yourself." The Troll of Gensokyo gestures.

The ground vanishes from beneath my feet again. "Dammit, Yukariiiiiiiiiiiiii..."

When I reappear in some alleyway, the sky already dark and telling me that I lost an hour at least, she silences my outrage with a serious expression and a heavy whack to the head with her parasol, before beckoning to me. Rubbing my aching bump, I follow her out of the alleyway, and into a supermarket.

_Tokiwa Super. _I read the name of the store as I pass through the automatic doors. _Oh my God, AIR-CONDITIONING! BLESSED COOLNESS!_ _PRAISE BE TO MODERN TECHNOLOGY! _It's been too long since I've experienced something like this; they didn't exist in Gensokyo.

"Tokiwa~ Tokiwa~ Su~per Tokiwa~" I listen to the music playing, appreciating another missed piece of technology.

"By the way," I pick up the supermarket basket as I follow Yukari, who is the recipient of a few stares for her outlandish clothing, "What's with the atmosphere here? Iku wouldn't like this place at all."

The person I brought up is another youkai friend of mine, capable of reading the mood to the extent that she would fit in nearly anywhere. And the thing I'm talking about is the heavy atmosphere around the supermarket; as we go deeper among the shelves, I realize that it's largely focused near the inner portion. The outer area where the cashiers are is innocent enough, but the intensity around me makes me feel like I'm among wild beasts.

"Tell me, Ikuto. What do you notice?" Yukari stops by the canned food section and looks at what's on offer, speaking without looking at me.

I glance around, tiptoeing to look over the shelves. Then I close my eyes and turn on a switch in my mind before repeating the process.

_Crowd of various types, mainly males, all lingering around the shelves, but that's not typical. Most men are technically buy and leave, but these... they're waiting for something, _I realize_, And their attention... they're looking at each other, sizing up... possible opponents? Is this what Yukari meant when she said I had to fight? _

My attention turns back to Yukari as she leaves the current aisle and goes over to the next, where a middle-aged man wearing a jacket over his shirt is standing in the opening.

"Excuse me," She asks politely, and the man moves out of the way with a glance of surprise.

I take the chance to peek at his watch and the thing he has in his hand. _It's nearly nine- two hours lost-, and I don't think a packet of chips can be that interesting. He's not even looking at it!_

"This isn't what I think it's going to be, is it?" I hiss at Yukari, not wanting to be overheard.

"Tell you what," She replies playfully, "Go take a look at the bentos over there, and see if there's anything you like."

I look at her for a moment, my eyes darting around to land on those contributing to the heavy atmosphere before returning to her. "Okay."

The moment I exit the shelter of the shelves, I realize just what she wanted. Having trained under harsh conditions, I've gained something of a sense for attention, and right now, there's a large amount of it focused on me. I prick my ears up, and listen as I approach the counter where five bento sets are laid out with several woven baskets behind them holding side dishes, tuning out the background music to focus on what's spoken.

"Who's that guy?"

"...never seen him before..."

"...weird clothes..." This speaker is commenting on my training clothes, technically old fashioned by the current standard here.

"Is he... take one...?"

_I was right. What they want... _I look at the bentos in front of me. _Are these. But they're waiting for something. The half-price sticker, I'm betting. These don't have them yet. _I test the waters further by reaching out, and receive an affirmative response by the increase in intensity as my extended hand is seen. _No wonder it felt like being in a den of hungry beasts, because in some way, it is. _

"He stopped. Not a..." I miss the term, but there's a definite decrease in tension when my hand pulls back.

"...must be a dog."

_Sounds like a title rather than an insult. _I think to myself, my eyes looking down at the bentos but not seeing.

"Not... like us." Once again, I miss the term that speaker used.

I turn abruptly at the sound of the staff door opening, and make eye contact with this spectacled old man in a jacket. We stare at each other for a moment, then I incline my head and move away, retreating back among the shelves.

"He... gave way... discounts..."

"That... must ...new."

"...waiting."

The attention shifts from me to the old man, who doesn't seem affected in the least. I suppose I can understand why, and Yukari confirms it when I return to her side.

"There are rules." She begins, still not looking at me.

"Don't fight while that guy is around." I guess, matching her soft volume.

Yukari nods. "Though these people call him something different."

I look out of the corner of my eye, watching the old man's back move around as he sticks the half-price stickers on.

"Don't bite the hand that feeds you, I suppose." Then I recall something. "Hey wait, I don't have any money on me. How am I supposed to pay for the food?"

"Check your pockets." She replies airily, and moves further down the aisle to look at something else.

Just as she hinted, there's money in my pocket. One thousand yen. Technically enough to buy without the half-price sticker, but even if I move now, the stickers will be on already. Another glance shows the old employee finishing up, and moving away.

_They aren't moving yet? _I walk forward, and peek out around the shelves. _He's going... going... _The swinging doors shut. _Gone._

Instantly the whole tension blows up. Shouts and roars fill the air, as all those I identified earlier start sprinting for the bentos. I weave aside, exchanging brief glances with those charging out of the aisle I'm in. Another result of my training in the wilds has given me a brief understanding of intention, and it works now; as long as I'm not going for the bentos, I'm not an enemy.

Punches are thrown, kicks are snapped out, as the hungry crowd battles for a chance to grab the half-priced food. Some opponents pummel away at each other, but form truces almost instantaneously to hinder one who is nearly about to get one, only to break them just as quickly once the threat is taken care of. I raise an eyebrow in surprise when a few of the weaker ones get knocked out; these people really don't hold back where it comes to food.

"Look at those who get one." Yukari's voice speaks into my ear, raised so I can hear over the war cries of the battling beasts.

I frown, and my mouth twists a little. "They only take one. And once they do, the others give up." I put words to what I see for my own benefit rather than hers. _Only three left. Two. _I watch the three winners walk away, those who failed to stop them immediately turning on each other to get the remainder.

"By the way, if you want to eat tonight, I advise you get in there as well." She pauses for a moment. "I don't believe there are leftovers for you back at the mansion."

"Dammit, Yukari." I groan, just as my stomach echoes her words.

"Have fun now. I'll be waiting for you outside." Her hand takes the basket from me, and leaves me facing the scene of violence.

I smack my palm with a fist, right, then left. _Here goes. _And I dash in.

Despite the sounds of the battle, it seems like everyone in the scrum has highly attuned senses, as quite a few heads turn in my direction. Some even put themselves in my way, intent on stopping me even if they didn't know my true abilities.

I duck under the first wild punch, coming up with my shoulder into the attacker's chin. Even as his head snaps back, my right foot slides forward, and I ram my back into his body, sending him and several others flying from the force. In the aftermath, I notice the remainder staring at me in shock.

"What was that?"

"He's freaking strong!"

"He's a wolf like us?"

_A wolf? I guess that's what these people call themselves. _I continue onwards, and two more come at me from the sides, more trailing behind them. _Come on then! Let's see how my training holds up against the hungry wolves!_

I parry another punch and drive my elbow into the puncher's chest, twist in the other direction and smash the back of my fist into the face of another who had been trying to grab me from behind. That same hand comes back down to clamp on the top of a charging tackler, and I whip my body into a cartwheel, kicking a fourth person in the chin as I flip over my support.

_They're slower than Meiling or Sakuya, _I name the gate guard and the maid of the mansion where I'm staying, _but their numbers make them a risk. _I land in a slight crouch, leaning back to slide into the range of someone who was trying to punch me from behind, and smash his face with the back of my head.

"Those movements, and the gloves! Is he the Wizard?"

"No! He's not wearing a coat! The Wizard always wears a coat!"

_The Wizard? So some of them get special names too? _I capture the flow of the next two attackers, and toss them head over heels, using a combination of parried punches and leg sweeps. _Wait, the food!_

I grab a quick glance at the table, where three men are fighting, drawing closer with every blow. My stomach growls again at the sight.

_HELL IF I'M LETTING THEM TAKE MY FOOD FROM ME!_ My fists clench tighter, and I make my move.

_Unstoppable run. _I kick off the floor, a thigh, a hip, a back, a shoulder, finally twisting into a flip in the air, and landing close to the counter.

_Flow like water. _I sway my body, and weave around two, three, four attackers, passing close to them, but not letting them hit me. I reach the trio, who immediately turn on me.

_Follow the wind. _My hands flick out, nudging a fist here, an elbow there, and making their blows miss completely. Before they can recover, I'm already gripping the top of two heads.

_Meet the earth. _With their center of gravity off, all I have to do is draw back slightly, and push down, knocking them out against the tiled floor. A roll forward avoids those who were trying to attack me from behind, and I unfold into a hard kick into the third's stomach from a ground position.

_Burn like fire! _I jump to my feet, and deal out a furious series of blows, punches, kicks, body slams, palm thrusts, each sending its targeted person flying.

_And... done. _I spin around the last person, slamming an elbow into his back, and snatch one of the two remaining bentos off the counter with my other hand. _Pork fry, huh? That suits me just fine._

As I leave, I hear some of the survivors talking about me.

"Who IS that guy? He can't be a dog!"

"It's like he couldn't even be touched at all!"

"Is he some wolf from the east side?"

"Eastern wolves are scary..."

_Looks like a rumor is going to start. But you know, that really did feel like it helped. I see what Yukari meant. _I think to myself as I wait for the checkout line to move so I can pay for my food and eat. _Looks like this is something that everyone here is used to; I can hear the fighting still going on, but everyone just tunes it out._

Yukari is waiting just outside the automatic doors. "I see you got one. Let's have a look." She beckons, and I take the bento out of the plastic bag and hand it to her. "Hmm, it's a normal one."

I look at the red-yellow sticker on the price tag. "Yeah, I noticed. Where can I get that warmed up?"

"Unfortunately, that clubroom is currently occupied, but there's a convenience store nearby with a microwave you can use." She says brightly, handing the bento back to me.

I put it back in the plastic bag and follow after her, as the gap youkai opens up her parasol and twirls it around in my face. I stare at the spinning circle of pink, then reach into the plastic bag again. It takes a bit of scratching, but I manage to get the sticker off. I then proceed to stick it over the tip of Yukari's parasol, the only part that isn't spinning too much for me to paste it.

As we wait for the bento to warm up, we get to talking. Apparently, what I encountered and joined in was a fierce battle that took place every night. Of course Yukari knew all about it already, but she left me to deduce the setting for myself just because that's how she is. Those who fight for the half-priced bento are wolves, newcomers are known as dogs, and supposedly, the really powerful wolves have nicknames... like the Wizard one of them talked about.

Anymore than that, I have to find out for myself. At least Yukari says she has someone for me to get in touch with in order to learn more.

"Well, dig in." Yukari invites from where she's seated next to me on a public bench.

_I normally eat more than this thanks to the amount of calories I burn. _I look at the meal steaming in the night air, and stick my chopsticks in.

A hand rests on mine, stopping me. "You should give thanks for the food."

I give Yukari a questioning look. _She's not her usual teasing self. _Releasing my chopsticks for a moment, I place my hands together. "_Itadakimasu._" (3)

Surprisingly, the food... tastes good. Quite nice for something that's bought from a supermarket and not a high-class restaurant.

"That's the taste of victory." Yukari remarks, somehow having figured out my thoughts.

"The taste... of victory?" I glance at her, then back to the bento, then back at her. "..."

"Yes. After all, food you work for taste better, does it not?" She starts fanning herself.

"..." My eyes continue to travel back and forth between the food I fought for, and the Troll of Gensokyo.

"Why so silent?"

I finally say one word before turning back to my dinner. "Whatever."

* * *

><p>Much later, back in Gensokyo, I'm playing a bit of chess with Remilia as her little sister Flandre sits on my shoulders, my passenger humming as my body shakes with the exertion of trying to stay in a seated position without a chair beneath me. It's nearly half an hour...<p>

"So," Remilia inquires, moving her rook, "What did that gap hag want you to do?"

"Sticker... collection." I grunt. _Bear with it! _

"Excuse me?"

"Sticker... collection." I repeat, and shift one of my few remaining pawns forward.

"Perhaps I'm better off not knowing." She remarks, studying my move. "But how long will you be at it?"

I count on my fingers to reduce the mental strain. "...twelve stickers. From twelve different... places."

"It sounds like the labors of Hercules."

I blink; the comment has taken me by surprise. "That's true. They're..." My knees start buckling. "Flan... get off..."

"Okay!" The weight on my shoulders lift, and I force myself to stand up.

"They are...?" Her sister prompts, focusing on the chessboard as she takes the other pawn.

"Quite similar, now that you mention it." I reach down and move my bishop. "Check."

Remilia instantly moves hers. "Mate."

"FFFFUUUU-" I raise my clenched fists, realizing too late that I forgot about the other piece. "Haaa!" I exhale. "Looks like I still got a long way to go. I'm off to bed. Good night, Remilia, Flan."

"Come and play again~" The vampire waves mockingly as she picks up the Sudoku book next to her.

I head back to my room, with my thoughts to occupy me. _There were ten shops on that map in the clubroom. Not to mention the east side... well, twelve is enough, I guess? Better than her-_

A gap suddenly appears in front of me, and Yukari's head pops out. "Pardon the interruption, but I think it's better if I get one from every single store." She tells me seriously, and flashes a winning smile. "See you tomorrow!"

A hand then reaches out and sticks a sticker onto my forehead before I can react. Yukari then vanishes back through her gap.

"FFFFFUUUUUUU-!" I splutter, the half-price sticker on my forehead.

* * *

><p>(1) A Japanese term for mythical creature. Youkais come in various types, beastial, humanoid, usually possessing fantastical powers. Yukari Yakumo's ability is to control the boundary of all things physical and non-physical, which makes her pretty much god-like.<p>

(2) Japanese term for a boxed lunch. The food within are usually kept separate from each other.

(3) Japanese way of saying 'Thanks for the meal'.

I believe that I have just wrote the first Ben-To fanfic on ! But it's a shameless self-insert of my OC Ikuto who entered the Touhou Project world of Gensokyo, put in a crossover. Of course, he'll be meeting the characters... and honestly, he's overpowered compared to them. He has training in Chinese martial arts and learnt Ki from Hong Meiling, dodged countless danmaku from a number of Touhou characters, and knows a teensy little bit of magic (which is obviously not going to appear in this). So yeah, overpowered.

Pretty much this is just an omake to my Touhou fanfic, but I'm not going to slack off on either one! In fact, this is more of a writing training for me to see if I can write something that describes the ferocity of the battles as seen in the Ben-To anime.

So please follow this secondary fanfic and give pointers on how I can write something that makes you want to go GAR, beating up those around you to show off your MANLINESS!


	2. BENTO: Seal of Honor

"Dammit, Yukari. A little warning would be nice." I grumble, sitting on the bench next to the annoying youkai, looking at the orange evening scene of people walking around.

"I did warn you." She tells me amusedly. "I said that I'd be coming around evening every day, right?"

I wave a dismissive hand. "Not that. Could you stop opening your gaps under my feet? It's irritating to just drop when I least expect it."

"But it would be a good way to train your reflexes, right?" Yukari counters.

_She makes a good point. But I don't want to admit it. _"Whatever. So where's this person I'm supposed to be learning from?" I look around.

"In there." Yukari points with her parasol.

I look up at the red-green sign. "That supermarket? Ralph Store... she's a wolf?"

"A former one." My puppetmaster gets to her feet. "Come, let us meet her, and continue your induction into the world of wolves. Shall we?"

_The way she said that set off all manners of alarms in my head. But I don't have a choice. _I get to my feet as well and follow the youkai into the place.

As expected, Yukari instantly gets some attention for her clothing when she walks through the automatic doors. But at least this time I made sure to dress in a T-shirt and long shorts. Certainly not what passes for usual clothing around here, but it's normal enough that I can hide in the background by acting unobtrusive... and pretending that I don't know Yukari.

Trailing behind her, I watch Yukari walk through the place, moving directly towards some target. I turn around a canned food display to see the one she's heading for; a store employee in a green apron over shirt and jeans, wearing a blue bandana around her head, with brown hair up in a ponytail and two long sidelocks. Her eyes are the small type that makes it hard to see her pupils, but it's clear from the way her attention locks onto Yukari that she has the instincts of a wolf.

With the store's speaker close by, I can't make out what Yukari is saying, but by the time I reach the pair, they're done, and all I get from Yukari is a gesture for me to follow the woman.

I pause at the double doors that lead into the staff area, and the woman notices, her hands already pushing them slightly open. Yukari is already moving off, to God knows where before she picks me up at some later time.

"Don't worry. It's okay." She calls back in an easygoing voice. "Come on in."

She leads me into a staff area, furnished with a couch and table, a sink, and cardboard boxes filled with store stock.

"Tea? Or would you prefer juice?" The brunette inquires.

"Juice, please."

I sit on the couch just like she gestures for me to, and wait for her to do the same.

"Kiku Matsuba." She introduces herself. "But you can just call me Macchan."

"Ikuto. That's it. How do you know Yukari?"

"That woman? I don't know her. She just told me that there was a young lad who wanted to become a wolf and fight for half-priced bento, and I thought I'd help out a little."

"Figures..." I mutter, but she catches it.

"She does this a lot?"

I nod. "Like you wouldn't believe." _I'm exaggerating a little, but not by much. _

"You don't seem like a local."

This time, I shake my head. "No, I'm from... out of the country."

"But your Japanese is quite good. There's hardly any accent."

"I had a good teacher. So," I decide to cut in before we get any further off track, "What does it mean to be a wolf?"

Macchan nods and begins to explain. Two minutes in, and the only thing going through my mind is: Fighting for half-priced bento is SERIOUS BUSINESS.

As I figured out from my adventure last night, those who fight for them are wolves. Those who are new, either through a lack of strength or ignorance of the rules, are known as dogs. And from Macchan, I find out about boars, people who ignore the rules or harass the staff, or as she puts it, the Gods of Discount.

I keep my opinions to myself about the God part. "So... what about the nicknames?"

"Nicknames?"

"I heard somebody mention the Wizard."

Macchan nods. "Ah, him. He used to be my rival, and we clashed many times over half-priced bento. But he's no longer here. He went overseas on an exchange programme."

"Your rival... that means you must have had a nickname too?"

The woman nods again. "I was known as the Monarch Butterfly."

"So... why did you stop?"

She holds up her left hand and shows me the wedding band.

"Oh. From a wolf to a god, huh?" Then I remember my purpose. "So... can you explain what are the rules exactly?"

In addition to the two rules I already know for certain, no violence in the presence of the God of Discounts and not touching those who have taken their bento, I learn of two more: only take one as any more would be taking victory away from another, and not to spill a bento, for the same reason. Then there's the all-encompassing rule: Have pride and have respect.

Like I thought, **SERIOUS BUSINESS**. (Bolded for emphasis)

Then there's the matter of the special stickers Yukari wants me to get. According to Macchan, they are called Honor Seals, and the God of Discounts will paste them on the bento that he (or she, in Macchan's case) likes the most.

"So have you tried to fight for half-priced bento yet?"

_I should probably hide my strength for now... let's pretend that I got my victory due to luck. _"I did, last night. Managed to grab a pork fry bento while everyone was... distracted." _Yeah, I distracted them by hitting them hard._

Macchan smiles approvingly. "That's a legal tactic. So, how about trying to hunt here tonight?"

"Here? In Ralph Store?" I see her nod. "I guess I could try..." I say doubtfully.

She looks up at the clock and stands up. "My break is over. You better go too. Anyway, the half-price discount time is around eight here, so go and kill time until then. There's an arcade down the street, if that's what you like."

"Any bookstore?" I ask as I follow her out of the staff room.

"Head out, turn left, then right at the junction. You should spot it easily." She stops in front of a trolley laden with stuff meant to restock the shelves. "So, back here at eight?"

I nod with a smile of thanks. "Yes, thank you for everything."

Macchan waves over her shoulder as she leaves.

"So," Yukari's voice in my ear makes me jump, "Learnt anything interesting?"

"The basic rules and terms." I turn around to look at Yukari. "That was shorter than I expected, so I'm going to kill time by reading some books."

"Patchouli Knowledge's library isn't enough for you?" She teases with a chuckle.

"After so much non-fiction, I'd rather read some fiction."

"Slacking off on your training, are we?"

I snort. "No, I'm just taking advantage of a break to do what I'm able to." I indicate the people out and around with a jerk of my chin. "And I can't train magic, Ki or martial arts here. At the very least, I'm going to take a rest."

"Have fun with your books then."

Thankfully, the bookstore allows for browsing, which for me means standing there flipping through the whole damn book. I remember the time I went to bookstores just to read the last three Harry Potter books because my dad didn't want to buy... Anyway, it's interesting to read the light novels and manga in this place. They have Shounen Jump (1) and a few other series that have cross-similarity with my world, which makes me wonder about different realities.

I can guess how Yukari cuts across them, since one reality is separate from another by their own personal boundaries, which she can manipulate anyhow she wants, but just how should I view those boundaries? Is it like this thing about Stein's;Gate, world lines and stuff, or Seinarukana's representation of various worlds being like branches on a tree?

_This is giving me a headache... let's just read some fiction and expand my imagination. You never know when they might come in handy. _(2) I thought back to the time I was training in Gensokyo's Forest of Magic, and I had used quite a few moves that I saw in manga.

_Zero no Tsukaima _(3)_ light novels... _I flip through the books only reading whatever interests me and mainly looking at the illustrations. _I remember seeing this series on Random Curiosity. _(4)_ Never watched. This Louise girl... trigger-happy tsundere loli. Oh God, I hope she doesn't summon me... I can imagine a whole bunch of different realities where she summons various different things._

Shuddering at that thought, I trade the last volume in the series for something else less mind-bending.

* * *

><p>I return back to Ralph Store with ten minutes to eight. There are already a few wolves about, but the number is less compared to the one I went to yesterday... Tokiwa something... Man, my short-term memory sucks like hell.<p>

_First, let's see what's on the menu. Ooh! Salmon! I haven't had any salmon since Gensokyo doesn't receive stuff from the sea. _I study the others. _Mmm... yeah, definitely the salmon. Let's see... _A look around the store indicates about fifteen people. _That's about five to one bento, but then there's the fact that not everyone will go for the same thing. For all I know, I might have to fight ten other guys just for this one._

I check my pockets again. As expected, there's another thousand yen note in one of them, courtesy of Yukari, and the pair of gloves with a note from her scolding me for forgetting to bring them.

"Scouting out the hunting ground?"

I turn to look in the speaker's direction. "Are you talking to me?"

The guy has a thick head of light brown hair, with piercings in his ears. He's wearing a black jacket with a red pattern on one side and a yellow one on another, and a red shirt beneath that. Despite his innocent question, his eyes are sizing me up, trying to gauge my strength.

"Who else?" The way he looks at me... it's like I'm not an enemy, but neither am I a friend.

I grin as disarmingly as I can. "I suppose, yeah."

"I haven't seen you before."

"Second time."

Hearing that, he closes his eyes and turns away. "A piece of advice, this place isn't for dogs like you. Get out while you still can."

_Well, that just remains to be seen, doesn't it? _My attention is caught by another guy who comes in, as most of the other wolves focus on him as well. _Huh, that guy looks more of a delinquent._

Long black hair tied in a ponytail, a white coat worn open with one sleeve torn off, a tight black shirt underneath, and the large metal belt buckle... really like some kind of yankee. I'm betting that he's one of those with a nickname. He's taller than I am, and pretty muscular. Still, I doubt he's any real match for me.

My attention shifts once more; Macchan, or the God of Discounts for Ralph Store (wait, shouldn't that be Goddess?), is walking out of the staff door with a sheet bearing the half-price stickers on them.

_It's starting. _I pull on the gloves, feeling no difference in my destructive ability, but trusting in Yukari's powers to guarantee that I won't take a life.

The bentos are on low shelves against a wall, and the salmon one I want is the second from the divider on the lowest one. Due to a sort of territorial field around each wolf, I've been shunted to the middle of an aisle, two aisles down from the one with the most direct route. I can't see the first guy, but that yankee's across the store. I tap the toe of my right, then left foot against floor, testing my shoes.

Macchan's finished, and she's walking to the right, heading for the door. I can see the top of the doors opening inwards... then... shut.

"**UOOOHHHHHH!**" The wolves immediately rush for the food, running to grab the half-priced meals.

Two striding jumps and I'm free of the shelves, and about to join the scrum that's already forming. A fist comes for my ribs; I chop it down, and slap the guy in the face with the back of my wrist. I duck under a wild kick and take out the kicker's support leg, before jumping up high using the back of the person in front of me.

I didn't expect a few to try and take me out while I'm airborne, but training with fighters who CAN fly takes over, and my Ki comes into play. One of the tricks I learned is how to manipulate my body...

I grab an outstretched arm and jerk the guy across me, twisting around to plant my feet on his back and kicking him down into the crowd. The motion sends me up, avoiding the next two, and I flip my body around so I hit the ceiling feet first, bending my knees to disperse the shock.

_That guy! _I spot the yankee bashing his way through the crowd, most wolves falling back rather than confront him. _Damn, he's strong! _

I finally understand why wolves attack anyone who is close to taking their desired meal. You don't know whether they're going to take what you're after, so it's best to play it safe. And by playing it safe, that means you beat down anyone who's close to your desired meal, whether they're going to take them or not.

"THAT'S MINE!" I yell, pushing off... HARD.

The yankee turns at the sound of my voice... only to receive my two fists squarely in his face. He goes flying back, crashing into a few others and sending them all against the shelves. Using Ki to deal with the law of physics that dictates that I would have gone flying along with him, I rebound off the point of contact to somersault back, landing on my feet in a stable position, ready for the next attack.

"Did you see that, he sent the Monarch flying!" Someone gasps.

"No wait, the Monarch's still getting up!" Sure enough, the yankee is staggering to his feet, staring daggers at me.

_Damn, _I whistle in my mind, _he's a tough one._ Without looking, I spin and kick another attacker away with my heel, returning back to my ready position instantly. _Oh wait, I don't HAVE to fight, do I. I just need to grab the-_

"Who are you!" The first guy... Jacket, I think I'll refer to him as, closes in and attacks.

I dodge and parry his quick and heavy blows. _Woah, now this guy's tough as well. Relies on his fists... let's see how he reacts to THIS!_

I sway left, then right, to avoid a one-two combination, moving my arms as though as I'm about to cross them.

His eyes narrow, apparently taking my action as a taunt, and he pulls back a fist for a heavy blow.

_NOW!_ I snap my arms out, snapping my fingers in front of his face and making him flinch. _Twin Palm Strike! _My arms twist downwards and inwards, and slam into his midsection, my feet moving into the right position to guarantee the proper support.

"HRGK!" Jacket grunts, and he hurtles back.

"Did you see that!"

"That guy is strong! Who is he?"

"You bastard..." A low growl comes from behind me. "You got lucky... but don't get cocky!"

I twist and block the heavy chopping punch with my right elbow, before putting my feet together and using its force to spin myself and knock it away with my left elbow. Still utilizing the spinning motion, I drive my right fist into his stomach, making him grunt and bend over.

_Didn't use Ki, but if he can take a blow like this, then he's really tough. Can't take it easy on a guy like this!_

I swing a left hook into his face, right straight, left elbow uppercut sends him stumbling back, step in with a right elbow thrust that bends him over again, then throw my upper body back and to the ground to give a cartwheeling kick to the chin. I land back on my feet, and extend my arms forward, palms up, watching the one called the Monarch take several stumbling steps back

"Huuuu-WAH!" I step back while pulling my arms in, and knock the guy behind me flying with the elbow-back blow.

"Get him!"

"Don't let him get the Honor Seal!"

_I guess serious business really does mean SERIOUS BUSINESS. _I turn to face the charging pack of wolves. _Let's try the flowing style this time._

I catch a straight on the inside, my other hand cupping the guy's stubbly face. With a quick twist, he goes off-balance and falls into the path of those coming up on my left, buying me time to deal with the right side.

My knees relax as I follow through with the earlier turning motion, and snap out a low sweep kick that takes out the legs that were about to land, sending another four men falling to the ground. One of them manages to grab my wrist, but a simple flick of my arms gets it free, and I step on his head to knock him out against the floor.

"RRRAAAAAARRR!" The yankee dude has recovered; he's carrying a metal trolley with one hand, and is swinging for me.

I slide back, then left, spin in and right, then go around him. He grunts when I strike his kidney, but somehow continues to try and hit me with that dangerous-looking trolley. Even with my Ki to reinforce, getting hit by something like that would hurt like crazy.

"Stop... moving... damn... YOU!" The Monarch grunts, flailing about him.

I ignore his words and keep pounding away at him; compared to dodging magic bullets and thrown knives, in quantities many times larger compared to what his trolley poses, there's no way he can hit me unless I let him. The extra training I put myself through of counter-punching after a dodge is showing itself, as his speed starts to decline under the accumulating hits.

"HYAAAAAAH!"

My body reacts, as I twist around to avoid Jacket's punch.

"Endo-san, we got to work together to beat this guy!" He wheezes, clutching his chest with his other hand.

"I'm don't... Haa... need your help! RRRRAAAARRRHH!" Yankee dude swings the trolley high up for what's clearly a downward smash.

_Let's try Meiling's move._ I step back as the metallic bludgeon descends, rising up on my left leg in a position poised to deliver a finishing blow. _Gather the Ki in my right hand..._

The moment it misses me close enough for me to feel the wind from its passing, I make my move. I let myself tip forward, and push off on my support leg, bringing my right foot down to channel my momentum forward.

"HAH!" Just one light slap. That's all it takes. Performed as I'm sliding past.

His body shakes, and the Monarch... falls. I hear his body crash to the ground as I walk away with my prize cradled in my left arm, having taken it the moment I dodged the descending trolley.

_He'll probably be out for a day or two. _I shiver when I remember how it felt like to receive the full blow from Meiling.

It consists of delivering a payload of Ki into the target's body, which even blows up and disables his muscular functions, and it left me totally unable to move for two days, even with extremely powerful medicines to help. The one I just performed wasn't even a tenth of hers; the yankee guy won't even know he was hurt in three days.

I hear the crowd muttering as I leave with my spoils of war.

"Scary..."

"He defeated the Monarch..."

"Is he a Western wolf?"

_Looks like rumors are going to start spreading again. West think I come from the East, East think I come from the West... this is going to be big. _I ignore the guy stumbling after me. _But that was a good fight. _The feeling of pride fills my chest as I pay for my purchase.

Jacket's voice calls out to me as I'm walking out of the supermarket. "Wait...!"

I turn around and look at him. "You should rest. Your body will recover."

"Who are you? Are you one of the Western wolves?"

"Me?" I look up at the night sky as I think. "I'm from Gensokyo." _Not like you can find it._

"Genso...kyo...?" He repeats, looking at me with intense eyes despite his injured condition.

"Seeya, Jacket dude." I turn and raise my left in a wave.

* * *

><p>*DING* The microwave sounds, and I open it to take out my warmed dinner. Even through the plastic covering, the smell of the food makes my mouth water and my stomach growl again.<p>

I endure it and make my way to the bench just across the store, with a can of apple juice purchased from a vending machine.

"_Itadakimasu_." I say, and pull off the plastic.

"Looks delicious." Yukari's voice comments.

I'm not surprised to find her sitting next to me even though it was empty a moment ago. "Yeah, just look at it! That light pink color, the bright orange roe... I can't wait to eat this!"

"Then do so." She encourages, "You fought for it and earned it, after all."

"That's what I'm going to do." I tell her, and pick up a piece of salmon with my chopsticks.

_OH. MY. GOD. I missed this taste so much! _Tears start coming to my eyes. _Nine months... nine months without salmon, the fish I love the most! This saltiness... DEEEEELICIOUS!_

Next I take a clump of three salmon eggs, and pop them into my mouth. I savor the slippery feel of the orbs as they roll around on my tongue... tasting the hint of the ambrosia within, before I burst them with my teeth, and let the flavor explode in my mouth.

My left hand clenches into a tight fist. _OHHHHH YEAAAAAAH... This is IT! This is the taste! Who could have thought it would taste so GOOOOOD~ _

"Let me have a bit."

I grab Yukari's wrist in a tight hold before her hand can touch my hard-won prize. "Hell no, it's my..."

A gap detaches her hand, which picks up an unfairly large amount of roe, withdraws into the gap, and reappears near her mouth so she can pop it in.

"Mmm... not bad."

"Damn it, Yukariiiiii..." I practically sob out. "That was mine! All mine! Why? Whyyyyy...?"

"Actually, it was my money that paid for it." She reminds me.

I scrunch up my face pitifully. "But, but... how could you..."

"Now you're just exaggerating."

I look away guiltily. "Che."

Yukari chuckles. "You really are interesting. Every time you prove me right about choosing to let you into Gensokyo."

"Mm, thanks for that. Did I say thanks yet? Thanks, Yukari." I start scarfing down the rest of the bento before she can violate my property again.

"You're welcome." She replies, good-naturedly.

Once I finished all of it, including the sweet, sweet apple juice, I take the plastic cover and put it back onto the empty tray. That's when I notice it. "Yukari."

"Yes, I know." She reaches into one of her gaps and pulls out a small book.

The salmon bento I got... has one of those special stickers on it, the Honor Seal. It is red and yellow like the normal ones, but in a different design, and has a laurel printed on it as well. As I look at it, I feel the sense of victory, the one that comes when I survive a particularly grueling training experience, or accomplish something I've worked on for weeks.

Yukari gestures, and the sticker comes free of the plastic with a soft pop. She then holds the book out to me, indicating the empty left page with a finger.

"Go on, stick it in. You earned it, after all."

I take the sticker and paste it in, rubbing it down with my thumb. "There. That's one down."

"Yes." The gap youkai pulls out a pen, and writes something below the sticker.

**'Salmon Roe Bento. Won by Ikuto at Ralph Store'**, it reads.

_Man, this really feels like an accomplishment._ I grin at Yukari, and she smiles back.

"Now, let's get you back to the mansion, shall we? I believe Remilia is waiting for another chance to beat you at chess."

_Gah... but I suppose I can accept a loss now that I have tasted a win. _"Alright." I get up to my feet.

Or tried to.

"Dammit, Yukariiiiiiiiii!"

* * *

><p>(1) Naruto, Bleach and One Piece are featured in this, along with many other series aimed at young males.<p>

(2) Ikuto uses them for skill ideas sometimes, but other times he uses them to make references and shout-outs to satisfy his own quirky character. Two prime examples in the story Keys to the Heart would be Chapters 9 and 38.

(3) Also known as Familiar of Zero. The heroine summons a boy from our world into her magic-society one, and is easy fuel for fanfiction writers. Spacebattles forum, I'm looking at you guys.

(4) An anime blog site that provides summaries of current animes that the bloggers watch.

That's chapter 2 of Ikuto's Ben-To fight, complete! Just like Yoh Satou, he earned a Honor Seal bento in the second 'episode', beating two strong wolves with his unfair strength advantage.

I feel that my fight scene this time is much more exciting than before, conveying the ferocity of the brawl much better.

I really went to emphasize the trope of Serious Business in this chapter, pointing out the crux that the entire Ben-To universe hinges on. Half-Priced Food? You damn well FIGHT for it! Fight with your stomach cheering you on, until you either lose (and eat the comfort food of instant noodles), or win, and eat a HALF-PRICED BENTO with the spice of victory.

I don't really have much more to say, since I'm just writing this as my muse dictates. This chapter was updated about a day after the previous one, but don't get used to it.

If you came across this first, I recommend reading my other story Keys to the Heart (warning: NSFW material at certain points) to get an idea of Ikuto's personality.


	3. BENTO: Lakeside Beauty

There's one thing I realize about the wolves here, and I'm exploiting it quite a lot in my fights. Oh, did I say fights? I meant curbstomping.

They don't really know how to fight at all. And I don't think it can be called curbstomping when all it takes is-

THUNK

I watch the guy go down, his eyes rolling back up into his head as he slides off my fist.

"TERYAAAAAAA!"

Without looking, I bring my other hand up in a fist, and take a half step in the direction of the yell.

THUNK.

Once again, another wolf goes down, with hardly any force on my part.

Yes, that is the attacking style of the wolves in general. They charge in at full speed, their hands pulled back to deal a punch or grab their opponent. Being extremely skilled in reading the moves of my opponent, combined with the sudden surprise of having a fist when one least expects it...

"UOOOOHHHH!"

Fist up, shoulder brace, half step.

THUNK.

...and they knock themselves out on my fist with their own momentum providing most of the force.

Of course, despite the moniker of wolves, I'm still dealing with humans. And humans learn to adapt; after seeing how I take down so many of them, the remainder become more wary. But then again, humans are still instinctual creatures, and these wolves are more so than the usual humans. One sudden feint as though I'm going for the bento, and it's-

THUNK.

Knock yourself out.

But besides that, not everyone is at the same level of intelligence or physical ability. Sometimes they can take the hit and get up again, sometimes they are just too fat or slow for the force to be enough. Those get a sidestep and an actual punch from me, or a kick, and then they go down.

_Doesn't look like there's anyone strong here..._

Somebody suddenly grabs me in a weak full nelson, and I curse myself for getting distracted. In one of the usual temporary team ups, another guy rushes from the front. I pretend to struggle a little, but actually twisting my arms around to grab the back of my captor's head. Just as the person in front of me draws within range, I prepare myself to take the impact, and bring my feet up in a sudden motion, putting it where my attacker-to-be's face is going to be.

What occurs reminds me of that setup... what was its name... oh yeah, a Newton's Cradle.

THWUMP.

The arms around my shoulders loosen, and I land back on my feet, ready to beat down the next challenger. _Lucky I got some Ki to reinforce my head, or else I'd be extremely dazed._

Eventually the crowd thins enough for me to take my time locating and picking the bento with the Honor Seal. As usual, I hear a great deal of awed muttering

_This makes my... fourth? Fifth? I need to double check. _I pay for the bento at the cashier, and leave the supermarket.

Of course, Yukari is waiting to escort me to a place where I can eat it warmed up. "Was it difficult?"

I snort. "I'm sure you know just how _hard_ it was."

"I see."

Yukari doesn't speak again until I'm in the middle of eating my bento.

"Would you like me to free you of this errand?"

I stop chewing, surprised by the question. "What? Why?"

"You don't seem to find it very enjoyable."

_THIS coming from the person who throws me into less-than-enjoyable situations for her own amusement? I'm... not sure what to think. I'm too shocked. _"...nah, it's fine."

"Are you sure?" Yukari presses.

"To be honest, the two guys I fought when I got my first Honor Seal had some strength," I say thoughtfully, "One of them had a nickname... so the ones with nicknames tend to be stronger. I haven't run into any others yet."

"So you'll continue, then?"

I nod. "Although this amount of food is hardly enough to fill my stomach," _I need to grab some more food when she gaps me back. _"I find the premise of having to fight for it kind of interesting."

"Become a battle maniac, have you?" Yukari teases with a chuckle.

I start to reply, but a yawn interrupts me. "It's natural to want to test one's strength to see where you are compared to others."

"Yes," She looks at me sidelong. "Just like you did nearly the whole afternoon."

To be honest, I'm thanking my luck for that easy fight earlier. After another not-so-good magic lesson this morning, I took out my frustrations in my physical training despite knowing that I would have to fight for half-priced bento the same night. After the usual vigorous warm up, I sparred with Meiling repeatedly, trading punches and kicks at a pace that would have had every wolf I met today unconscious within two minutes, and did so for nearly two hours. Then I did another straight hour of dodging against Sakuya and Remilia, enough so that I was running on instinct during the fight.

And now, I'm too tired to even care about the fact that Yukari was spying on me. _She does it all the time anyway. _I continue eating my bento, only barely aware of the flavor.

Later, we go about the task of removing the sticker and pasting it into the book. So far it's been straight wins, but none of the fights after my first Honor Seal had been that interesting. I don't think that I'm a battle maniac like Yukari mentioned earlier, but I'm not going to deny the fact that the feeling of adrenaline pumping during a fight is exhilarating.

"A little more than ten left." Yukari comments.

"Yeah." I toss the bento into a trash bin and pretend to be distracted.

It's an almost imperceptible motion; a slight twitch of Yukari's body is all the warning I get. I immediately leap aside, forcing my body to move through its fatigue and the weight occupying its stomach just as one of her trademark gaps open where I used to stand. The look on her face is one of surprise when things don't go how she expected them to be.

"HA!" I point at her triumphantly, having finally managed to dodge her usual way of gapping me out. "Not tha- SHIT!"

_Note to self: don't gloat so much. _My calm personality observes as I fall out of that world and back into Gensokyo.

* * *

><p>"FORK!" I yell, stabbing my dripping hand into the block of wood and leaving four puncture holes in it. (1)<p>

"KNIFE!" My other hand whips around and slices the pierced section off. (1)

My body shifts, distributing the weight around as my fist lines up with the arm that holds the cut wood. Force and Ki builds up in my arm, and I release it.

"HAH!" The wood shatters as I punch through it and clear it off my fingers.

"Good!" The voice of my instructor, Hong Meiling, calls a stop to today's training. "That's enough for today!"

"OSU!" I swing my clenched fists out to my sides and bow slightly in her direction.

As we start cleaning up, we get to discussing my progress; while my skills are improving at a slowing rate, my fighting sense is improving extremely quickly, probably due to the half-price bento battles. I react to impending threats faster, taking them down with efficient strikes while avoiding their attacks. I'm glad for that, but I started training for the purpose of mastering Ki rather than martial arts. So...

_Nah, I'll just improve at my own pace. I'm not going to be leaving this place anytime soon anyway._

"Go take a break. Yukari's going to be coming in the evening again, right?"

I nod. "Yeah."

"Take a nap or something then. You used a great deal of Ki today, so you should watch yourself."

As if to prove her words, my legs stagger slightly. "Yeah... see you later then."

I take a quick bath and change into my modern clothes, making sure to tuck the special gloves into my pockets. Once I'm dressed, I head for the usual sitting room, where Remilia is passing the time reading another of the books I bought for her.

"Perhaps you should take a break sometime." She remarks without looking up, "Flandre's been missing you."

"Sometime soon." I agree, "Or do you mean yourself?"

The vampire snorts. "As if..."

"Uh huh." I adjust my position on the couch until I'm nearly lying flat. "I think I'll take a nap."

"...Ikuto."

I lift my head at Remilia's tone. "What?" I ask curiously.

"Your fate is really confusing, you know?"

I blink in surprise, and raise my head to meet her crimson eyes. Remilia's ability gives her the control over fate, and she can supposedly manipulate the heck out of it without any trouble. Of course it stands to reason that she can see the future to some degree; when I first met her, she told me I was fated to never break a bone, and so far it has remained true.

"What about it?"

"You're going to meet a person of the lake, away from it."

_What the heck? Is she talking about the lake this mansion is situated in the middle of? _"I'm not going to go out of this place, so how is that possible?"

"How would I know?" Remilia retorts irritably, "Just because I can manipulate fate, doesn't mean I know how it's going to happen."

"Sorry." I sigh and lie back down. _Huh... is Cirno going to be tagging along?_

...

"...ake up." Somebody's calling me. "Hey, wake up!"

"Whuh!" I bolt upright and look around. _Dammit, Yukari. Don't just drop me while I'm asleep!_

I'm in the modern world again. Apparently, Yukari came in the middle of my nap, and unlike her usual way of dropping me abruptly, this time she deposited me gently on a bench near a large pool in a park.

"You're finally awake. Why are you sleeping in a place like this?" A distinctly female voice asks me.

I look at the speaker. A white T-shirt and red checkered miniskirt, blue eyes behind spectacles, and long shaggy golden hair that resists the orange light of the twilight. All in all, a student with foreign blood.

_She's actually pretty hot. _I eye her large chest for a moment before looking up at her curious expression. _Not as big as Yuugi's, or I'd think I'm meeting that oni's _(2) _alternate counterpart._

"A certain old lady's prank." I mutter in response to her question. "What's the time?"

She checks a cellphone. "About quarter to seven."

I stand up and stretch."Guess it's time to-" I stop. _Wait, I don't know where I am exactly, so which place am I supposed to go for today's bento?_

"It's time to what?"

_Should I tell her? Hmm, she might know, I guess? _"Half-price bento."

Whatever reaction I was expecting, it certainly isn't shock and pleasure. "Ohh! You're an out-of-town wolf?" A grin spreads on her face.

"Yeah, I guess I am." I admit.

"Got a nickname?"

"Not really..." _A nickname, huh? _"You?"

"Where are my manners? Ayame Shaga, nicknamed Beauty by the Lake."

I blink again. "Excuse me?"

She introduces herself again, and this time her nickname finally registers in my mind. _So this is the person Remilia said I would meet? ...I just realized that she didn't say anything else about the meeting. _My mouth twists wryly as I come to terms with the fact that for a prediction of the future, it's rather half-assed.

"What? I didn't ask for that nickname." The blonde frowns, misunderstanding the look on my face.

"No, no, it's not that. I just recalled something." I deflect, "Anyway, you're a wolf too, huh. So where are you hunting tonight?"

Shaga, as I've come to think of her, studies me thoughtfully. "Just a nearby store. You?"

"I was thinking of somewhere further, but maybe I'll just go along with you."

A smirk forms on her lips. "Are you flirting with me?" Shaga asks in a barely passable sultry manner.

"No." I reply flatly.

It's damn funny to see her shock in response to my straight out denial, though she recovers quickly enough to lead me to the supermarket she was planning to get her dinner at. We chat about random stuff; I find out about her still being in high school, and her finding out about my status as a university dropout (which is somewhat true).

"By the way," I remark while keeping an eye on the doors to the staff area, "Why did you wake me up? I thought people normally keep to their own business."

"Eh? Uhh... well..." Shaga shifts uncomfortably. "It's kind of embarrassing..."

I glance at her. _Cheeks not that red, so I don't think it's THAT type of embarrassing. _"How about a deal? Whichever one of us gets the Honor Seal, gets to know whatever they want about the other."

One blonde eyebrow rises up over a blue eye. "Ho~... Fine, you're on!"

I spot the store's God of Discounts, a slim young man, passing through the doors and make a few last minute checks. _Money in pocket as usual, along with gloves... _"Whoops, can't forget the gloves." I mutter, hurriedly taking them out and putting them on.

"Gloves?" Shaga asks me softly.

"Protection." I whisper back, omitting the fact that they were for the protection of those I hit, not my fists.

Somehow, Shaga's presence gets my mood up in a way I haven't felt in a while during my hunts, the mood for a good fight, evidenced by the way the pounding of blood in my ears nearly obscure the background music I've found common to every store I've been so far. There's no doubt about it; Shaga's stronger than the average wolf, and I'm itching to test her skills against mine.

Ki pulses through my muscles as the God of Discounts pushes open the doors and passes through, his task of pasting the stickers accomplished, and leaving the wolves to fight for the prizes.

I spring forward the moment the doors stop shut, outstripping every other wolf to the shelves where the bentos are. _Where, where, where... THERE. _Spotting the teriyaki bento with the Honor Seal on it, I mark its position in my mind and turn around to face the charging horde, settling into a fighting stance.

Shaga's surprised expression fades out to be replaced by an emphatic grin; she recognizes my desire for battle being stronger than the one for food, and wants to test her skills too.

"THWEEEEET!" A sharp whistle sound through the store.

Instantly, everyone's heads turn in the direction of its source. A teenager, another high schooler by the looks of him, is running towards the bentos, trailed by several other teenagers, all wearing matching jerseys. He has two fingers in his mouth, and releases another piercing whistle. Instantly, I spot more jersey-toting teenagers, coming up through the other aisles.

"Hounds!"

_Hounds? _I look around at the teenagers, all clearly part of the same team. _Ah, _I understand when I see a number of them gang up on a single wolf, _Dogs that work in a pack, while wolves hunt alone. _

"Hounds are part of a group. They always work together for food." Shaga rattles off as she comes within earshot, confirming my analysis. "I don't recognize these guys, but they must be from some school club."

I turn to the side and kick down one of the wolves who had been trying to get past me.

"So," I say casually, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Probably, yeah." Shaga spins and kicks out another wolf behind her.

I grin and turn my back to her. "Let's see who gets more. Us wolves _fight_ for food, after all."

A warm weight rests on the opening I offered. "You're on!"

We spring apart, and start bashing down the opponents in our way. Unlike the usual wolves, these hounds aim for lockdown of a single wolf before dispatching him or her, so I adjust my fighting style accordingly.

I parry two grasping hands and bring my knee up into the chin, before pushing off his shoulders to avoid being flanked. A fourth comes around, only to go down to three flickered jabs.

Another whistle, and I start dodging to avoid being surrounded. _Good tactics... but not enough to nab someone trained in avoiding attacks. But avoiding isn't all I trained in._

I make my move after dodging another charge; a heavy elbow slam to the upper back, followed by a low kick to send the guy to the floor.

Hook to the jaw, side kick to face.

High spinning elbow, step forward, straight thrust to belly.

Flip backwards to avoid low tackle, twist, and slicing aerial kick to a shoulder, plus whipped out fist to the temple.

Land in front of heavyset guy, palm strike to jaw, elbow to sternum, shoulder to chest sends him flying.

"Get that guy! THWEEEEEEET!" One of the hounds points at me, whistling for his comrades.

I twist to the side to avoid another grab, and counter-grab the outstretched wrist. A step-in, pivot, and push, and the would-be grappler goes crashing into his group mates.

"Pretty good!" I hear Shaga yell.

_Huh, she can keep track of me even though she's being mobbed too. Pretty good yourself. _I push my hips to deliver two kicks to separate jaws in a single jump.

"Why you-!"

I turn to see the leader of the first pack of hounds charging at me, or rather, at the bentos behind me. A backfist takes out another wolf trying to go for the same, and I turn my attention back to the pack leader.

"Whppf!" He makes a funny sound when I slap him across the cheek, making him stop in surprise.

_Totally not prepared to be hit. I see why he's a hound and not a wolf. _I follow up with a kick to the stomach, and finish him off with a roundhouse knee to the temple.

"Done already?"

Instantly, I whirl around and punch at the source of the voice... only to be stopped by disposable chopsticks to my knuckles. "Shaga-san."

The grinning blonde is holding onto the middle of the pair of chopsticks, another pair in her other hand. "Thinned out enough. Wanna go?"

I match her grin. "Bring it on."

I withdraw my fist just as she twirls the chopsticks, a move that would have deflected my punch away had I left it as it was. She recovers quickly, striking forward with her other hand and forcing me to block. Almost just as quickly, she manipulates the wooden length to redirect her fist over the block, dealing a light but unmistakable punch to the shoulder.

_First hit for me. _I thought with surprise, ducking a heavy roundhouse kick aimed at my head. _Another practitioner of the flowing style, huh?_

Over the next few seconds, her excitement gives way to frustration as I parry her thrusts away, giving her no chance to use her skills. It appears that her expertise with the art relies heavily on the use of chopsticks to disperse the obstacles before them. On the other hand, my attempts at attacking are easily disabled, her movements nearly split-second in reaction once my punches are halted for a moment.

_So let's see how she reacts to the loss of her precious chopsticks then! _I pull my right hand back in a clenched fist, and shoot it out.

Shaga thrusts her own weapon forward with intent eyes.

The wood shatters as my two suddenly-extended fingers pierce straight through.

"WHAT THE?" Blue eyes widening behind her spectacles, the girl leaps away, out of range.

"Huuuu..." I purposely force the sound of a stunt artist in a martial arts movie through my mouth, moving my hands around to complete the image. "HWACHAH!"

The guy trying to sneak up from behind collapses, a light imprint of my fist in his face. _Meiling's training in sensing presences is damn useful._

"You really don't have a nickname?" Shaga asks cautiously, fingering her remaining pair of chopsticks.

"Nope."

We both move simultaneously, taking down another two opponents before returning our attention to each other.

"Still wanna go at it?" I offer.

She regains the grin, and starts moving towards... the box containing the disposable chopsticks. "You really know how to show a girl how to have fun."

"Now who's the one flirting?" I retort, smirking as well.

Once again, we pause our conversation to 'discourage' other wolves from moving in on the food, Shaga kicking hers, me doing an elbow smash, both to the head.

"Let's go then!"

I stare over her shoulder, my mouth opening in an expression of shock. "Holy shit..."

The blonde instantly brakes and spins around to see...

NOTHING. There isn't even a wolf coming to backstab her.

I faked her out with the simplest trick in the book. The 'What's that behind you' trick.

Realizing it too late, she whirls back to face me. "Hey!"

I raise my hand in a wave as I walk past her, the teriyaki bento in my other hand. "Sorry, I got my bento already." _Heh, reminds me of the time I faked out that Jacket guy._

Shaga fumes, but there's nothing else she can do except grab another bento and follow me to the cashier. Luckily, this store has a microwave oven, so I don't have to walk too far to get my meal warmed up, and it's only a short distance to a nearby park.

Half-price bento dinner by streetlight... guaranteed dumping if you bring a date to that. Good thing this isn't a date.

"Itadakimasu~" We chorus, splitting our chopsticks.

Shaga immediately pops a piece of fried chicken into her mouth. "Uuuu~!" She squeals, pressing her free hand against her cheek. "Utterly delicious!"

"Hmph." I dig into my own meal.

"Hey, lemme have some!"

Without even having to think about it, my chopsticks clash with hers, stopping them an inch away from my food. _Looks like Tewi's attempts have trained my reflexes. _"No."

"Boo~" Shaga pouts, withdrawing. "You're so selfish."

"My food." I mock-growl. "You, no eat."

"Okay, okay..."

After a few minutes of silent eating, we start talking again. As expected, she tries to probe more into my background, but I just make vague excuses as usual. On the other hand, I find out why she woke me up earlier; her nickname supposedly stems from the fact that she fell asleep in the same spot after eating her first Honor Seal bento, and seeing me sleeping there raised her interest, which led to her waking me up.

"You sure you don't have a nickname?" She asks me as I come back from disposing of the empty plastic box.

I shrug. "Not that I know yet. Maybe somebody will give me one soon. I've been fighting quite a while already."

Shaga starts to say something, but a wide grin appears on her face. "You know, I just thought of another wolf with a nickname. Guess what his nickname is?"

"I dunno."

"Pervert." She starts laughing. "Can you believe it? He got the nickname of Pervert!"

"What did he do, flash himself during the fight?"

"Oh no, no, nothing like that. He just," Shaga leans closer, speaking in a conspiratorial tone, "Turned up dressed in a girl's school uniform with his boxers peeking out."

I can't help it; I snort at the image she paints.

She reads my reaction correctly, and chortles. "Right? There was this other guy there, and he set about spreading the nickname, so Satou is now stuck with it."

"Satou?" I inquire.

Shaga waves a hand in the air. "The guy with the nickname of Pervert."

"Ah." I look up in the direction of a familiar presence. "Looks like it's time for me to go."

"Already?" The girl asks with evident disappointment.

"Yeah." I stand up from the bench. "Say, I think it's okay to tell you where I'm from, at least."

In spite of herself, Shaga looks interested. "Where?"

I give her the same answer I gave Jacket dude nearly a week ago. "From Gensokyo, of course."

"Gensokyo? Hey wait! Where's that?" Shaga calls after me as I walk out of the park.

I'm sure she must have been surprised to turn the corner after me, only to see an empty street. Yukari teases me for making a new friend, of course, but it's nothing compared to the other times she trolled me, so I ignore her. After all, Shaga's presence has led me to realize something important.

_She knows other nicknamed wolves... so I might know who would be good to fight against. _I think, watching Yukari paste the newest Honor Seal into her collection book and write the details in.

* * *

><p>"I have to do WHAT?" I demand incredulously.<p>

"Eirin volunteered your services as a singer for the party that's going to be held at Eientei (3) next week." Yukari informs me with a twinkle in her eye.

"I suck at singing, you know." _Dammit, Eirin. So that's how you're going to take your revenge?_

"Then you just have to practice until you don't."

I sneer at her. "Oh, and how do you propose that?"

"Here." Yukari hands me a purple Ipod, the one I gave up when I first came to Gensokyo. "Pick three songs you like."

"And singing practice? Are you going to bring a karaoke machine here?"

"Of course not." The gap youkai replies glibly, "You'll just be using those outside. Then you can go hunt for your half-price bento afterwards."

My expression twists into a frown at the thought of that. "That's going to cut down on my training time here."

"So you would rather embarrass yourself in front of everyone when you sing?"

_Dammit, Yukari... _"Fine. Gimme that." I grab the Ipod and the headphones from her. _I'll get Eirin for this, definitely._

* * *

><p>(1) Moves from the manga and anime Toriko.<p>

(2) Onis are a type of youkai that possess horns on their heads. They are a honest lot, and particularly love fighting and drinking. Humans who interest them tend to be abducted.

(3) Eientei is a residence in a bamboo forest, so thick that people get lost in it very easily, thus giving it the name of Bamboo Forest of the Lost.

Well, the ending for this wasn't as nice as I would have liked, but I blame that on my muse leaving me around that time. Doesn't help that I'm low on ideas for my main story's next chapter.

Nothing much to say, apart from asking my readers to look forward to the next chapter. Who'd you like to see Ikuto beat up next though?


	4. BENTO: The Four Named Dogs

I exhale, letting my heart relax after testing out yet another song. "Which one was that?"

"Definitely not." Yukari replies to the unasked question, shaking her head, "Not even if you practice it for the whole time slot."

"Thought so." I pause the machine to cross off the song name from my list. _The songs are like are mostly sung by female singers... whose voices I can't- what's the term for it- live up to? Thinking in emotional terms again; can't translate to logic so easily. Sigh..._

After picking out a selection of songs that I WOULD like to sing at the party at Eientei (not by my own choice), I requested Yukari's services in dropping me into the outside world at an earlier time, so I could practice singing them in a karaoke place. Of course, she went the extra mile by ensuring that the karaoke machine would HAVE the songs (blatant abuse of ability, but it's super convenient). I've already picked my favorite song for one of the three, but so far, the remaining two choices have eluded me.

Not that I can't sing any of the songs I picked; good songs are good songs, and my list of the songs I WANT to sing keeps increasing, while the number of free slots remain unchanged. And besides the number problem, there's the issue of getting the appropriate song to play to the crowd. I doubt most Gensokyoans (is that the right term?) would understand the meaning of terms referring to modern stuff, like cars, AI, etc.

I hum to myself as I count what's left. "Three more left to test..."

A waving at the corner of my eye alerts me to the employee on the other side of the door to the room. _Time to go already, huh? _I nod to the girl and start cleaning up the list I've made.

"You've been talking to Remilia recently, haven't you?"

I nod absently. "Yeah... tempting fate, you might say."

"Another prediction?" Yukari says knowingly as she follows me out of the room.

"Some weird one..." I frown. "That my brain just forgot all too conveniently." _It sucks how my brain usually blanks out in face of questions. _"Something about two dogs..."

"Hey, it's you!"

I turn around at the sound of the familiar voice. "Oh, Shaga-san."

"Just Shaga is fine." The blonde says dismissively. "You... hey wait, I never got your name."

"Ikuto." I look over my shoulder to see Yukari's absence. _Vanished as usual._

Shaga peers into the room to see what I'm looking at. "Singing alone?"

"Was." I corrected. "My friend left already."

"Shaga, who's this guy?" A male adolescent voice asks.

"Oh, Satou!" Shaga grabs the new appearance in a headlock.

She introduces me to her cousin and fellow wolf, Yoh Satou, the one with the nickname of Pervert. We exchange looks, mine pitying, his one of resignation. He's dressed in a simple white-black school uniform, and hardly looks special. Compared to him, Shaga's other companion, Inoue Asebi, a small girl wearing a raccoon cap and scarf, looks far more interesting, despite not being the fighting type at all. Of course, I choose to observe from a distance; there's something about that girl that SCREAMS at my sense of danger.

"Going to hunt for half-price bento now?" I ask as I wait for them to pay. _Good thing Yukari paid for mine already, without even me noticing._

"Of course!"

"Lead the way then." _Yukari always dropped me into a karaoke lounge near a place I haven't gotten the honor seal from, so I doubt this is any different._

True to my expectations, following the group leads me to a nearby supermarket that I haven't been to and probably won't ever enter again after earning the Honor Seal from the place here. On our way there, we talked about hobbies; they play Virtua Fighter... it's been a long time since I touched that series, and I really miss it.

And somewhere along the way, Asebi vanished. Shaga doesn't seem too bothered about that, so I guess it's fine...

Shaga suddenly stops walking the moment she reaches the shelves. "Geh."

"What's wrong, Shaga?" Yoh asks, then looks at where his cousin is looking. "Ohh! It's you two."

"Good evening, Beauty, Freak." A cultured female voice greets.

The speaker is one of two twins, both with silvery hair and wearing the same school uniform as Shaga. Unlike her twin whose hair is cut short except for two side locks, the girl who just spoke has a full, flowing head of hair.

"Orthros!" Shaga mutters.

_Orthros? That doesn't sound like a normal name... guess that means it's her nickname?_

"Yes." The girl acknowledges Shaga's address. "Oh, who is that behind you?"

"Nee-san, he appears to be a new wolf." Her twin speaks.

"My, won't you introduce him to us, Beauty?" She says archly, her eyes locked on me.

Sawagi Kyou and Sawagi Kyou... same pronunciation, different written character. The one with longer hair is the elder sister, and comes across as one who speaks without thinking through first; I've had my share of that as well, so I'm not too bothered by her. Her younger sister plays support, volunteering information or stepping in where her sister needs her to.

"You!"

As one, the group turns towards the sound of the shocked male voice. _Oh, it's Jacket. _I recognize the familiar shock of brown hair and attire.

"Hi." I greet him stoically.

"Hi? HI?" The guy reacts with shock. "Do you know just how long I've been looking for you?"

_...GAYYYYY. _"No," I reply without divulging my emotions, "I don't."

Jacket stares at me for a moment before turning away and covering his eyes with a weary palm. "Never mind."

"Well," Feeling as though a gear shifted inside me, I start speaking cheerfully, "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm off to see what's for eating tonight." I start walking towards the place where the bentos are displayed.

"Wait, I still have-" Jacket reaches out for me.

Unfortunately for him, my martial arts training earlier today focused on countering grappling techniques, and it left me with an unhealthy reaction to anything that might resemble an attempt at one. While Meiling's style has roots in Chinese kung fu, there are some moves that I attribute to aikido instead. Jacket crashes into the ground with a simple grab and twist before I realize what I did.

"Oops, sorry." I apologize, my hand still holding onto his wrist. "Try not to grab me, I'm a little jumpy. I don't want to break any rules before the God appears, you know."

The guy's eyes are looking a little unfocused. "Uhhh... okay..."

Everyone else is eyeing me with a variety of emotions; interest, speculation and shock. I ignore them in favor of checking out the bentos. _Mmm... nothing really stands out. Hard to tell which one will get the Honor Seal. Damn, this might be tough. I count three wolves with nicknames, or four, if that other twin sister has one too, so this might be a tough fight. _Out of the five bentos on display, only three of them are the ones that I would normally pick to eat.

I spend the rest of the time avoiding Jacket until the God of Discounts appears, which immediately sets every wolf in the store on alert. I run through my last-minute checks and ready myself for the conflict.

Closing... closing... SHUT.

"RRRRAAAAAAAHHHH!"

I sprint a short distance forward before turning around and smacking down the guy behind me. Fist, elbow, palm, knee, foot, I use all of my moves to take out the wolves in my vicinity as fast as I can, knowing that-

"You're an interesting one." A familiar female voice speaks from above.

_Here she is._ My eyes dart around to look for the other one. "Bring it on!"

"As you wish!" The joy is evident in her voice.

My uppercut smacks into a plastic basket, which absorbs the force. _Oh~ this is interesting. Shaga uses chopsticks, but they use baskets? Nice... _

Something flashes in the corner of my eye, and I instantly disengage and jump backwards. The movement spares me a rush from the right side from the other twin.

"Take this!" Still in the air, the first twin twists and lashes out with a kick at my face.

It collides with my other arm, a short distance from my chin.

A clattering sound from my left draws my attention, and I turn to deflect her kick with my leg.

"He's amazing, Kyou!" The elder squeals as she finally lands and distances herself from me, dispatching another wolf with her basket as she does.

"Yes, he is, Nee-san." The younger joins her sibling's side, taking down one of her own.

I settle into my ready stance, keeping most of my attention on the pair of twins.

"OOUUAAAAAAH!"

Reacting to the howl of hunger, I immediately lash out with a hook at the charging wolf. _SATOU!_ I recognize the guy who was with Shaga nearly instantly.

He ducks underneath it, and launches a straight punch towards my midsection.

I slap it down, and bring my knee up, crashing it into his chin.

The impact is far less than I expected. _He twisted out of the way! _

My eyes widen as I remember the twins, but when I turn to look in their direction, my vision goes dark.

Training with Meiling taught me that such a situation usually means your opponent is dangerously close, and hammered-in instinct takes over. I drop to the floor and brace myself on the linoleum with my hands.

My right leg lashes upwards, and knocks the basket that had been obscuring my vision out of its carrier's hands.

"Ah!"

The muscles in my wrists and shoulders groan as they twist my body around for the next attack.

My feet meets the edges of a second basket, held by the younger twin.

"Hmph!" She shifts her grip, and unleashes her counter.

My surroundings whirl around me as she throws me into a spin, and I barely manage to break my fall properly, though I take a painful tumble across the floor, luckily avoiding the feet of the other wolves as I come to a stop beneath...

_White. _I raise an eyebrow as I look up...

"HEY!" A sneaker-clad foot comes down towards me.

I twist my body out of the way, and jump back up onto my feet. A reckless charge by some guys force me to step back, causing my back to press up against a smaller girl's one.

"You owe me a drink for that!" Shaga tells me teasingly.

"Meh."

A glance at where I started from reveals that Satou is still beating off the wolves around him, but the twins are leaving a trail of devastation behind them with their baskets working interchangeably as weapon and spring. Settling my breathing, I take a moment to note their movement patterns and how they use a combination of surprise and blitz attacks to beat down their opponents before the poor fools know what hit them.

"Hey, Two Dogs!" Shaga calls out, "Your guard dog is running loose! Be careful that they don't steal your dinner!"

"I told you, don't lump me together with that Pervert!" Jacket replies as he sprints past us, heading for the twins.

"Orthros!" Satou jumps into the fray on his end as well.

"Two Dogs?" I inquire, kicking down another guy.

"That irritating twin named them that." Shaga explains, still in her position behind me.

"A nickname that marks them as amateurs... that just doesn't make sense."

"More importantly," Something in her voice shifts, and I react by leaping away while twisting to face her. "Let's have our round two!"

Her blue eyes lock on me promising mischief, and from the way her body is lowering itself while adjusting the grip on the chopsticks in her hands, she's about to come in for an attack.

"HAAAAH!"

I sidestep her lunge and strike out, only to see it get parried by her chopsticks.

Shaga pivots and sweeps her leg out low, but I use a bit of fancy footwork to dart around to her back.

The blonde rolls forward and smashes another guy out of her way, before spinning to face me. She barely manages to catch my kick on her crossed arms. As it is, she still skids a short distance back.

"GYAAAAH!" A guy screams, and the two of us turn to look.

The elder Kyou lands lightly on her feet, looking down at a bruised Satou. "Fuu... I expected better, Pervert-san."

"GUHHH!" Behind her, Jacket crashes into a stand, making the goods displayed on it rattle.

"Nee-san." Her opponent dispatched as well, the younger Kyou joins her sister's side.

_Ah well... looks like it's between me and them. _"Shaga?"

"Hmm?"

"How strong are they?"

I can practically see the thoughts running through her head, before she smirks. "Probably more than me."

It's funny how the elder sister's expression changes when she hears that her superiority is in doubt, prompting the younger to try and console her sibling.

"You want to go or should I?" I ask casually.

She starts to speak, but the next moment, her decision is made for her by the rush of wolves coming from the side. That's what you get standing near the aisles, I guess.

Around us, people are tussling with each other, and it doesn't look like anyone has gotten their hands on a bento yet.

Part of me wants to grab the food and leave, another part wants me to test my skills against the pair of wolves known as Orthros, the two-headed guard dog.

_Ah, to hell with it. _I dash towards them, dodging around the brawlers in my way.

They move towards me as well, swaying their bodies around each other in an attempt to confuse my vision.

Within three seconds, I find myself impressed by their coordination and skills; they cover for each other, and can read my motions well enough to defend themselves, even with their baskets impeding their line of sight.

I keep them on the defensive by battering their makeshift shields with a series of punches and kicks, some hard enough to make them grunt from the exertion.

"Nee-san!"

"I know!"

The twins instantly switch tactics; one of them flings their basket at a corner and dashes towards it while the other moves around to attack me from the opposite side as a distraction.

_Step, step, arms cross... STRIKE!_ Making use of a feinted elbow thrust, I instead unleash a hammer fist that swings upwards, deflecting the basket upwards. "HAH!"

My palm slams into her undefended midsection, and releases a heavy impact that throws her back.

"GUAH!"

"NEE-SAN!"

I react to the cry of alarm by dropping to the floor and lashing out upwards with a kick, an action almost reminiscent of the one I used when I first encountered the twins in combat, but this time my foot makes contact with a ribcage, and the other girl curls up instinctively.

_Get the bento! _I roll backwards and onto my feet, then turn to dash for the shelves.

"Not that easy, Ikuto!" Shaga slips in front of me and intercepts my outstretched hand with two pairs of chopsticks.

_SHIT!_ I realize that I had been too desperate, and left myself open.

My hand gets shunted aside, and the next thing I know, there's a heavy ache on my right cheek from the hook she threw. I stagger slightly, but manage to block the follow-up kick.

"Behind you!" I gasp out.

"I'm not going to fall for tha-AUGH!"

"Told you..." I wheeze, as Shaga falls to her knees, clutching the spot where one of the Kyous kicked her.

I suddenly dodge to the side as a basket flies at me, and quickly defend against the jump kick that comes after it.

"What's your nickname?" The elder sister asks, standing still behind her sister.

"Don't have one." I watch their faces closely. _CHANCE!_

The moment their eyes widen in surprise, I quickly turn and dash over to the bentos, Before they can stop me, the one with the Honor Seal is in my hand. A quick glance identifies it as some tofu loaf one, which looks heavy enough to satisfy my purpose.

"Ah." They both say at the same time, looking at me with disbelief as I walk past them, waving nonchalantly.

_Fighting is fun and all, but really... _My stomach emits a growl that I can barely hear over the sounds of brawling. _I have to say that food takes a higher priority._

* * *

><p>"So how did you manage to deal with them so fast?" Shaga asks curiously, pausing in her eating to do so.<p>

I glance at the wary pair, then at the two guys stuck eating instant noodles, before finally looking back at Shaga. "I saw how they moved, and figured out their pattern."

The twins' jaws drop open in shock. "That quickly?" The elder Kyou asks in surprise.

"I'm _very_ used to reading patterns." _Basic survival skill of Gensokyo._ "Of course, another factor is that I went right for the first opening. Best offense, good defense, that sort of stuff."

The twins sigh, while the rest of them stare at me.

"Woah dude, I can't believe you don't have a nickname." Satou speaks up, and the rest nod in agreement.

Jacket suddenly interrupts. "I got one for him."

_Huh?_ The guy instantly becomes the center of attention. "One what?"

"Nickname. I got one for you."

"What is it?" The elder Kyou asks.

"Illusion (Gensou)." The guy smirks at me. "You said you came from that... Gensokyo, didn't you? And you have one of the best sets of movements I've ever seen. So, Illusion."

I shrug and pop another piece of meat into my mouth. "Mm, fine with me."

"Why does he get such a cool name when mine is Pervert!" Satou demands petulantly.

Jacket's retort is immediate, "Because you are a pervert, Pervert."

"That's right, Pervert."

"Pervert." The younger Kyou echoes her sister.

The poor guy hangs his head with a long-suffering sigh, making me feel a bit of pity for him. It really sucks to get labeled with such a humiliating nickname. But instead of saying anything, I just finish the rest of my food and take the Honor Seal to hand over to Yukari later.

"Say, you're collecting those, aren't you?" Satou asks suddenly, just as I stand up.

"Yep."

"One from each store..." Shaga guesses.

"Yep." I repeat.

"Then you'll be meeting the Ice Witch soon." Kyou adds.

_Sounds like a strong wolf. _"The Ice Witch?"

"Yarizui Sen. The Ice Witch." Jacket explains, "She's the one that is the best example of a wolf."

"I see." I notice Yukari waiting in the distance. "I hope I'll run into her sometime. Have to go now. Good night, y'all."

As I walk towards the gap hag, I start thinking about my situation. Admitting the truth to the twins was a foolish move, since they would be prepared for me next time, and it appears that with each victory and Honor Seal, my opponents grow tougher.

Satou's nickname might sound insulting, but from that brief moment of combat I had with him, I can tell he's able to take quite a number of hits, making him a tanker-type. The twins are a combination of speed and stealth, and they know how to use it extremely well. Shaga is a counter-type, but she's able to use her chopsticks offensively on occasion, and her blows are powerful. Jacket... on the high end of the average scale, but it doesn't seem like he has a nickname, so maybe he just didn't stand out enough.

_Then there's the Ice Witch... from Jacket's description, I bet she's one of those who are absolutely focused on getting her meal... _A smile crosses my lips. _When I meet her, I'll probably learn firsthand how it feels like to confront a hungry beast._

* * *

><p>This chapter was long in coming, and it's shorter compared to my previous ones! But I've finally written it out. Go me. Give me feedback on my fight scenes though, it feels like I regressed slightly in my descriptions.<p>

On another hand, I've lost most of the drive since the end of the Ben-to anime, but I'll do my best to continue with this. At most it'll be another two chapters before Ikuto is done getting all the Honor Seals.

Next chapter, expect to see the Ice Witch!


	5. BENTO: Wolf's Pride

Jump, twist shoulders, transfer down to hips, roundhouse kick!

"UWAAAAH!"

Land, duck underneath a lariat, chamber fists at the side, and BLAST!

"GYAAAH!"

Left step, right foot slide out, elbow thrust!

"UGHHH!"

The guy I just nailed keels over clutching his stomach, twitching slightly. I take advantage of the brief lull in the action to look around; none of the people I met before are here.

"Oi, Illusion, whatcha' standing around for?" A goatee-wearing sandy-haired man dressed in work clothes and a headband taunts, before charging in for a punch.

_Damn, Jacket only gave me that nickname two days ago and other people know it already?_ I shake my head and move forward, negligently slapping the blow aside before following up with a heel palm strike to the jaw. _Oh? He's still conscious._

I chain my movements into an often-practiced combo; left hook, right elbow, back slam!

_And there he goes... next up is..._ _IS THAT A MONK? Man... that's one shiny head... and he's got the six dots too- _I duck down to dodge his first punch, then weave to the side to avoid the next. _Woah, he's quite good. _I throw out a few testing strikes, but he manages to block them. _Time for another combo!_

This one is another quick takedown sequence imparted to me by Meiling; dropping my center of gravity, I let my left foot whip out in a low kick at his shin. It takes him by surprise, and he stumbles a little.

A swift left hook to the jaw rattles his brain, and the monk dude stumbles around.

I finish him off with a snap kick to the chin, and he collapses to the floor.

"HAAAAH!" A brunette in a school uniform (not Shaga's) skids to a halt in front of me and charges in a motion reminiscent of a tackle.

_Sidestep, parry left, parry right._ I sway around her, reversing our positions and putting me closer to the bentos. _I see you recognize it, so what are you going to do now?_

"Che!" The girl grits her teeth. "What, can't hit a girl- OOF!"

I raise an eyebrow as her limp body topples off my foot. "You were saying?"

Considering the fact that I spar against two girls (who are probably way older than me) in situations that are practically life-or-death, there's no way I can think about male chivalry and come out alive.

"UOOHHHH!"

My eyes widen as Satou himself drops out of nowhere, intent on challenging me for the bentos. At this distance, I can hear the sound of his stomach growling, a primal sound that represents the wild instinct of the crowd.

"HOOYAAAAH!" I roar back.

His fist comes at my face, but I tilt my head and it barely brushes my cheek.

In return, I unleash the fiercest attack chain in my arsenal. _Half-step forward, left hand elevated, fingers open, right fist, palm up, waist level. Engage entire body, FIRE!_

The heavy blow flickers over the short distance to slam into his stomach with all of my body weight behind it and a great deal of Ki to reduce the direct damage.

"GUH!" Satou chokes out, and goes flying into a wall. "UGH!"

His body bounces off, and I almost feel a bit of pity at how limp it looks, but quash the emotion in favor of a finishing punch.

THUNK.

"I... I want... I want that bento!" The guy growls, his fist pushing defiantly against mine.

_Damn, I'm impressed! He actually managed to take that hit and still fight on. _We snatch our hands back at the same time, and he charges again. _Movements are rough, but at least he's coordinated enough to beat most of the average guys._ I dodge to the side and toss a few jabs at his midsection.

Satou blocks them with his arm, turning to follow me.

I feint a heavy punch, pulling it all the way back to my shoulder to exaggerate it.

He reacts immediately by raising his guard and solidifying his stance.

_Gotcha. _I swing my left foot out and hook it behind his. With a sudden jerk, Satou loses his balance and starts tilting back. _And another!_

A quick hop switches my stance, with the added effect of kicking out his remaining support pillar when my right shin collides with the back of his leg.

"HOOGH!" The air in his lungs explodes out through his mouth with the impact of hitting the ground.

My body, trained through countless repetitions of various movements, executes one of the ones I insisted on being taught; twisting my trunk to the right, I perform a cartwheel, planting my hand on his chest and temporarily halting his attempt to take a breath.

_Back up, and... spinning duck... elbow to the head... step forward, and grab!_ I snatch my targeted bento from the shelves to the disappointed groans of those who were around to see it. _A little tough today because of the number, but nothing too hard._

I look back behind me as I walk out of the battle area; Satou has somehow managed to get up and is still fighting for his food. That guy has amazing resilience.

_Maybe I should..._ the rest of the thought doesn't need to be put in words; I signal to Yukari my intentions once I've finished with my purchases.

A few minutes later, I call out to Satou as he exits the supermarket with his bento. "Hey. Didn't hit you too hard, did I?"

"Huh? Oh... no, I'm fine."

"Where are you going to eat?" I inquire. "Mind if I join you?"

This time he looks a bit suprised. "Eh? Errr... not really..."

He takes the lead, limping slightly as he walks slightly ahead of me. As we move, he talks to me about his school and stuff. It's interesting to find out that the long-haired brunette I was fighting was actually nicknamed Brunette by one of his classmates. And that naming trend continued with the other two guys nicknamed Beardy and Monk respectively. Feeling a bit amused by the nicknames, I ask about the person who gave them those nicknames.

"She's also part of the same club I'm in. The Half-Price Food Lovers Club."

"How many of you are there?"

"Three. Me, Oshiroi-san, and Yarizui-sempai. (1)"

"Yarizui... you mean the Ice Witch?"

Satou nods. "Yep, that's her."

"You know, I really wonder about these nicknames sometimes..."

He sighs." Tell me about it. Some of them are just plain stupid."

Satou goes on to complain about the unlucky circumstances that landed him with his crossdressing outfit. Sounds like that Asebi would give the goddess of misfortune Hina Kagiyama a run for her money... No wonder she gave me a bad feeling when I first met her.

Our destination turns out to be a school, and we sneak by the security guard at the gate to get into the place. The surroundings start looking a little familiar, but it isn't until he leads me into a room I recognize that I finally connect the dots.

_So this is the clubroom I first entered this world in. _I scrutinize the wall filled with all the half-price stickers, but it's hard to see any real difference in there.

"Satou, who's that with you?" A female voice with a clinical tone asks.

In the unlit room, against the moonlight shining through the window, the girl is just a silhouette sitting at the table. I can't really see much of her, but her (relatively) short hair is a bluish-silver, a color which reminds me greatly of Keine Kamishirasawa. On the table in front of her, there's a bento still in its plastic bag; she appears to have been waiting... probably for Satou.

"Oh, Yarizui-sempai. This is..." He looks at me quizzically.

"Ikuto. Just Ikuto." I supply.

"Ikuto. He's the wolf with the nickname of Illusion."

The girl twitches slightly at the sound of my nickname, and her head turns slightly to lock onto me with eyes hidden in shadow.

"Yo. Just came to eat together with someone."

"Really." Yarizui pushes her chair back and stands up. "I don't mind. Satou, show him the microwave."

I can feel her staring at me as we wait for our meals to be warmed up. Rather than facing her, I just look around the place. It hasn't changed much compared to last time, if at all.

"I heard you're going around collecting Honor Seals." Yarizui says suddenly.

My eyes flick over to her before meeting Satou's eyes. He shakes his head. "I'm doing that as a favor for..." I pause to find the right word to describe Yukari, "A friend." I finish. _Albeit a very bad one._

I sense some disapproval radiating off her, but she doesn't give voice to whatever's on her mind. In the end, I settle for ignoring her in favor of talking to Satou about fighting games. Man, it's been a LONG time since I touched a Virtua Fighter game, but I still remember it fondly. I'll probably get trashed if I play against anyone with experience right now though.

Soon, we're seated around the table with our steaming bentos in front of us.

"Itadakimasu." We chorus, and start eating.

Halfway through our meal, Satou speaks up. "Oh yeah, where's Oshiroi-san?"

"She said something about having to work on her novel."

"A novel?" I interrupt, interested.

Satou sighs again. "Don't ask. Please."

His tone tells me that the whole thing is a bad idea, and that I shouldn't even think of asking if I don't want to be mentally scarred. _I wonder just what sort of material is there in that novel... horror? Sex... _A realization washes over me. _Ew, ew ,ewwww..._ I lower my head to hide my disgusted expression.

"Say, Ikuto, how did you get so good at fighting?" Satou asks.

"I have a very good teacher." I reply modestly.

"I bet." He agrees, "It's so hard to even hit you."

"I don't approve."

The sudden interruption takes us both by surprise, and we look at the source: Yarizui Sen.

Satou asks the question. "Of what, Sempai?"

"I don't approve of you being a wolf." Yarizui says while looking at me with those red eyes of hers.

"Why?" I ask softly.

"A true wolf wouldn't collect Honor Seals. Honor Seals are simply a bonus trophy for the true prize, the bento."

_I guessed as much. After all, I'm insulting the pride of the wolves through my actions. _"True." I admit, "I'm not a true wolf. Though I can empathize with the pride."

Satou looks at me questioningly, but Yarizui twitches at my words.

"Funny, isn't it?" I chuckle, pausing to chew on another piece of meat. "I don't have the pride, yet somehow I have it."

"That doesn't make any sense!" Satou exclaims.

"It does to me."

Yarizui lays down her chopsticks. "That's a false pride."

"But if I pursue it with all that I have," I think of a certain redhead who desires to be a hero, "It'll have its own worth." _I can't really recall what the exact words are, but I think that's the main gist of it._

The rest of the meal passes by in silence, up till the ending 'Gochisousama-deshita'.

As I'm leaving, I throw out a final parting. "My next hunting ground will be at Hocky Mart."

One of the biggest hunting grounds within the territory of the Ice Witch.

Later, after I returned to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, I fill Remilia in on what happened.

"So you challenged this Ice Witch?" Remilia asks interestedly.

I nod. "I suppose you're rubbing off on me."

"What do you mean by that." Her tone carries a hint of danger.

"Isn't that how vampires should act?"

"You're not a vampire."

"Ehehe..." I chuckle.

"Checkmate."

"What? Damn!"

Remilia smirks. "And you still haven't answered my question. How did I rub off on you?"

_It didn't even sound like a question just now. _"Well... You know how you treat intruders in here? I'm applying that to her."

In my meeting with Yarizui, I not only snubbed her, but portrayed myself as being on the same level as her, and to round it off, I threw her a straight challenge. There's no way a vampire like Remilia would let such an affront pass.

"She's not a vampire either."

"But she has red eyes!" I protest jokingly.

"So does Kazami."

"But..." I stop. "There's no point in continuing this conversation, is there?"

"Good that you recognize that." Remilia picks up her teacup and takes a sip, then makes a face. "It's gone cold. Ikuto, get me a refill."

I get to my feet and bow to her. "Yes, Milady." _I think I may need to train harder._

* * *

><p>I consider the information I received from Jacket along with what I learned from my meeting with my future opponent. <em>The Gabriel Ratchets... weird name, but I suppose they work well as an information network.<em>

Yarizui Sen. Nicknamed the Ice Witch. Silver hair, red eyes. Often seen in her school uniform, yellow top and black skirt. Her attacking style seems to revolve around leg techniques, very much so considering her leather boots. Defenses is based on avoiding the enemies' attacks, but I suppose she's used to taking a few hits of her own, not like the Orthros twins.

A cloth shoe-shod foot comes at my face, and I redirect it to the side with a palm while tilting my head.

Before I can get a grip on the limb, its owner twists and pulls it away from me, transforming that momentum into an aerial heel kick with her other foot.

I sway back out of its path, and strike out with a fist.

Then I realize what a mistake I made. _CRAP!_

In a whirl of red hair, Meiling catches my arm by the wrist and wraps her legs around it... then she slams me painfully into the ground with a quick twist of her body. I learned stuff from her, but she learned some tricks from me as well.

"Ow." I mumble.

"You got distracted."

I push myself up and dust myself off. "Thinking about my future opponent."

She chops me on the forehead. "Don't. When you're in a fight, you focus only on your _current_ opponent. Got that?"

"Got..." I trail off as I get a reminder of the similarities. "Got it."

In a fight, you aim to defeat your opponent. In a fight between wolves, it's just a matter of shifting the target from your opponent to your meal. That's why I could tell Yarizui that I have the pride of a wolf while not having it at the same time.

It makes sense to me, and that's all I need. I don't need to justify or explain it to anyone else.

_Just need to practice some more. _I run my body through some checks before nodding and taking up a stance again. "Ready."

She still ends up beating me into the ground; that's the extent of the difference in our experience.

Still, thanks to the medicines I have prepared from a trustworthy pharmacist, I'm ready to go when Yukari comes to pick me up. Unsurprisingly, she does her usual 'open up a gap under Ikuto' trick, which I manage to evade three times before she finally catches me. Even so, I manage to land cleanly on my feet after passing through the gap.

"You look ready." Yukari comments from a short distance away.

I straighten up and look down at my hands. It's a bit disconcerting to find them shaking. "I'm... excited." My stomach growls slightly, reminding me how long it has been since I ate lunch.

"In more ways than one, it seems."

"Oh hush, you." I flap my hand at her and walk out of the alley.

"Hm? Oh, Illusion. What a coincidence." Surprise, surprise, the trio I met earlier were just about to enter the Hocky Mart.

"Yo. I hear the Ice Witch is going to be here today."

That piece of news makes them freeze in mid-step. "Geh. You sure about that?"

I nod, watching them carefully as they discuss things among themselves.

Eventually, they come to a decision. "Not this place then. Let's go." As they walk by me, they tell me to say 'Hi' to Yarizui.

_Huh, the Ice Witch must be really strong if her name can scare off those three. _Shrugging, I step into the stall to check out the evening's selection.

I don't see Satou or the others around as I approach the shelves, but they show up after I've made my decision about what I'd like to eat. A trio of students, Satou, Yarizui, and a short spectacled girl who must be the Oshiroi I heard about. Letting myself drift a bit closer, I overhear them discussing the bentos they want. Once again, it's difficult to identify which bento is going to get the Honor Seal, but my choices overlap with both Yarizui and Satou.

This is going to be troublesome. Then again... troublesome doesn't mean it won't be fun.

For the next few minutes, I play a small game of hide-and-seek with Yarizui and Satou, slipping in and out of aisles in an obtrusive manner as I can manage; it's good training trying to move around other people by staying outside of their attention range.

"Oi, it's the Fat God." I hear someone mutter moments after the familiar sound of the heavy employee door being pushed open.

"It's starting." Someone else hisses.

"Satou, get ready." _That was definitely Yarizui. She's in the next aisle, huh._

"Got it, Sempai!"

The big guy in the striped shirt and employee apron finishes sticking the stickers, and heads for the door he entered from. I note the way his eyes flicker around over the store, passing over every visible wolf in wait, before he turns and leaves.

The expected explosion occurs instantly. "UOOOOHHHHHH!"

I dash in and vault over the frozen food section, putting me in front of three wolves, one heavyset, the other two thin dudes. My appearance seems to have taken them by surprise, and I quickly take advantage of it by lunging forward and taking down the latter pair with swift blows to the jaw and temple.

The remaining guy is quickly dispatched with a body blow and an elbow to the jaw.

The sound of shifting air. A sudden shadow. I recognize the signs of an incoming projectile, and dodge, turning to look in the direction it came from.

Amidst conflict, on a battleground of wolves, there _she_ stands.

I'm familiar with how different people can be on and off the battlefield; Meiling, Sakuya, Mokou, Youmu, Alice... I have sparred against various Touhou girls, and they are all the same in this aspect.

And it has given me good experience in judging my opponent's strength.

Silver hair. Red eyes. A relaxed pose, ready to burst into action at the slightest notice.

"Come." A softly spoken invitation, yet audible through the din of fighting.

I charge forward, actually taking the initiative in attacking.

A right straight- NO! It's a feint instead; I twist in the other direction for a spinning heel kick at her side.

She blocks with one arm, but the slight shrinking I feel tells me she didn't manage to solidify her guard in time.

We pull away at the same time; she leaps off the display to drive a booted foot at me. I intercept it on my palms with my feet already in position to provide support.

Her expression twists into a frown at the ineffectiveness of her attack.

"HAH!" I thrust upwards, throwing her body off.

Yarizui flips around, and lands in a crouch. She doesn't pause, but attacks once more, this time with a flurry of punches.

I sway around half of them, parrying the remainder aside as I back up against her momentum. _There!_

My punch hits her hair; she read my move and ducked! I grit my teeth and tense my trunk muscles.

One hit, two hits. The hits to my body are heavy, but since I was expecting them, they don't do much.

But her attack has its price; I bring my right knee up in between us, and catch sight of her eyes widening. _Left foot, pivot for support... _"HYAH!"

"UNGH!" Yarizui grunts as my heavy kick smashes into her crossed-arms guard.

_That's not the end of it! _I drop that foot down to the ground and use it to propel myself forward, transferring the momentum into another blow to her guard with the joints of my finger. _She grimaced! That means it worked!_

Just to play it safe, I perform a spinning elbow followed by a knee strike, despite knowing that the chance of them actually hitting is low. But it leaves me in one of the cool-looking stances; one leg raised up while I'm perched on the other, hands spread out to the side for balance and ready to defend.

Yarizui is still frowning at me, clearly wary, but at the same time coming across as sort of offended. And I can guess why.

_The fighting is still... _I quickly drop to the ground and roll away from a sneak attack from behind, darting between tussling groups. _Better get closer to the shelves-_

A familiar pair of boots drop to the ground in front of me while I'm in mid-roll. The Ice Witch isn't letting me go so easily; from her crouched position, she supports herself on a hand and swings her legs out in a roundhouse kick.

I smack the floor hard, thrusting myself up into the air and letting the attack pass below me. Then I twist and launch a kick of my own.

Yarizui rolls backwards out of the way, and we both come to our feet at the same time.

Dip left, switch over to the right, punch! Pull back, twist to avoid the return, upper cut! Switch over to elbow, drive forward!

A hammer fist comes down towards me, but I'm ready for it.

My foot slides forward, bringing my body very close to hers as I trap her arm, and I execute a smooth throw over my shoulder. And with where I'm throwing her, she has no time to twist herself into a safe landing posture.

"Hgh..." I hear her grunt as she crashes into another bunch of wolves, sending all of them to the ground.

But she doesn't stay down; Yarizui rolls away from the pile, and attacks once more.

Ducking to the side, I spin and knock away an attempted intrusion with my elbow before turning my attention back to the Ice Witch.

My eyes widen. _She's going for the bentos!_

The response is almost instinctual; our fighting has put me near the box of disposable chopsticks. I snatch up one and throw it in the manner Sakuya trained me in, sending the piece of wood in a straight line for her thigh.

It works, and she darts backwards to avoid it, giving me the opportunity to close in on her and herd her away from the food.

"Sempai!"

My arms cross each other, and I throw myself to the side... dealing Satou a heavy blow to the body, then following it up with a backfist to the face, and finally finishing it by reaping his left foot out from under him, helping him crash into the floor with a palm thrust from the other hand.

"Satou!"

Despite Yarizui's exclamation, her attention is focused solely on attacking me. And for some reason, she seems to be getting stronger; perhaps its adrenaline, or maybe the power granted by hunger, but her movements are faster and she strikes with more force.

Kick, punch, elbow, kick, one-two, kick, spin, low sweep... I do my best to defend and counter against the onslaught.

A kick slips under my guard and hits me in the stomach, and I stagger a little. _Not good, she's actually forcing me back. Better to-_ My mindset switches in an instant, and I make my move.

She slugs me in the jaw, and I do the same to her just a beat after; we both stumble, but mine naturally has more effect.

The Ice Witch kicks out, and I mirror the action. The resulting effect lessens the force of our respective kicks, but she uses the repulsion to reposition herself. And for a brief moment, we pause to take note of our surroundings.

There we stand, the joined line of sight between us parallel to the shelves where the meals await the victor. This time, there's no invitation; we dash towards the bentos at the same time.

Her hand darts towards one, mine comes from beneath to slap it up, and makes an attempt to grab it for my own.

She uses her other hand, and smacks mine down. Her body shifts, and a leg comes for my side.

I lift mine to intercept it, using the force to manipulate my precarious balance to put my body between her and the bentos.

Something strikes me in the back, but my hand latches onto a plastic edge... _GOT IT!_

* * *

><p>"Hm. I take my words back, you are a wolf."<p>

"Thanks, I guess." I mutter, rubbing at the bruises on my arm. _Damn, I got careless._

I managed to get a bento with my desperate move, but I failed to get a Honor Seal... because I grabbed the wrong bento when I reached out blindly.

"Man, it's damn hard fighting against you, Ikuto." Satou complains good-naturedly, taking out his chopsticks.

"Itadakimasu."

The moment I take my first bite, I can tell the difference. _It's... much more delicious compared to the past few times! _

The meat somehow seems much more juicy and flavorful, the sauce stronger yet not overpowering, and even the rice has its own innate flavor... everything combining to make a truly mouthwatering meal.

I chew the food in my mouth thoroughly before swallowing. _So this is the spice of victory, huh? It's quite good..._

"Delicious! This is delicious!" Next to me, Satou is devouring his food at a furious rate.

I meet Yarizui's eyes as she eats her meal delicately, but neither of us say a thing. And the rest of the dinner in the park passes uneventfully.

Later, after Yukari has sent me back, I find myself in a conversation with the gap youkai on the roof of the mansion.

"I'm slightly surprised you didn't manage to get one this time," She asks me under the half-moon in the sky.

_Slightly? That means she was expecting me to fail... _"Nice to know I inspire only enough confidence for you to expect me to be unsuccessful," I say dryly.

"But you don't seem that disappointed," Yukari adds.

"I'm the sort to accept things and move on, you know that." A touch of annoyance leaks into my voice. "And besides... it wasn't a total loss."

She chuckles, and opens a gap to leave. "Make sure to get it next time," She reminds me.

After she vanishes, I head back inside, intent on taking a shower before turning in. _I got a taste of what it's like to be a real wolf, pride and all... it's not that bad, I suppose._

* * *

><p>(1) Brief history: Satou met Yarizui by chance when he tried to get a bento that was at half-price, and after getting beaten up and losing his short-term memory, he gets inducted into the world of fighting for half-price bento, mainly through Yarizui Sen inducting him and Oshiroi (a classmate of his) into the Half-Price Food Lovers Club.<p>

Another chapter down. Haven't been writing regularly due to school being a distraction as usual... SCHOOL SUCKS!

Anyway, the next chapter will probably be the last one in the Ben-To universe... But after I finish it, I'll be going back to my main fanfic... it's hard to write certain chapters if you're not in the mood. If you know what I mean.


	6. BENTO: Live For Life

_Just one more. _I muse to myself as I flip through a book in a Kinokuniya store, barely hearing the music playing in the headphones I'm wearing. _And then what?_

It's been... I'm not sure of the time difference between Gensokyo and this world or not, but sometimes... even with a difference of a single day in Gensokyo, I might come back to find it to be as much as a week since my last foray. But honestly, I can hardly care about it.

To me, Gensokyo is my home.

So I can honestly say... I won't miss this place much after I leave. I'll miss it, yes, but not much.

_But still... if I'm going to be leaving, I want to do so on a good ending note... _I smirk as I close the book to look at the flyer I have tucked under my armpit. _A coincidence... I normally have bad luck with coincidences, but in this case I can call this a good one. _

After my encounter with the Ice Witch, I continued my spree of collecting Honor Seals, though calling it a spree would be stretching it a lot, since it was only that and another two more stores. But in the end, there's only one left to get.

_And that one store happens to have a food fair... Which happens to end tonight... With offered food purely meant for the wolves to fight over. _I reread the line that talks about the final day. _Interesting how this looks normal, but the underlying meaning says it clearly._

I check the time. It's just about enough for me to get there and scout out the competition, with a bit of leeway in case something happens. Exhaling with a bit of disappointment, I put down the book and head out of the store. As I walk out through the sliding automatic doors, I start humming softly to the next song that just started to play.

_And there's another coincidence. Tomorrow night's the concert... hard to believe it's so soon, but it's nice how it coincides with this last sticker collection. _I finger my Ipod. _Too bad I have to return this later tonight... I better get my satisfaction listening to all the good songs before I do._

A brief thought about my karaoke sessions in this world passes through my mind; if there's anything I would miss about this world, it would be the chance to cut loose by singing my heart out. But then again, I think I can probably persuade the kappas (1) to invent a karaoke machine...

"Yo!" A female voice I recognize hails me from behind, making me turn to look for the owner.

"Shaga." I greet the lively blonde.

Blue eyes glance at the flyer in my hand. "You going too?"

I smile slightly. "Of course."

We walk onwards, chatting about stuff like her studies and hobbies. It's been a long time since I handled high school subjects, but I find that I can remember a few math and science facts... probably won't be able to pass with distinctions, but at least good enough to get a B grade. Then again, if I had a bit of time to revise...

Oh my god.

_I'm actually thinking of revising my schoolwork? _I think to myself incredulously. _And basic level stuff to boot. God, I live in Gensokyo, a place where normal people should suspend their common sense because it doesn't apply! _I reference a certain green-haired priestess. (2)

"Ikuto? What's wrong?" Shaga asks curiously.

I shake the thoughts out of my mind. "Nothing. So how are you keeping up with your studying? You must be some kind of genius if you're hunting as a wolf and playing Virtua Fighter."

Our group (if you can call a pair a group) doubles as we wait at an intersection for the signal to cross.

"Oh my, if it isn't the Beauty and the Illusion."

_That voice kind of grates on the ears, if it wasn't for what comes next... _A glance to the side shows that Shaga knows what I'm trying to do and is playing along.

"Kyou! They are ignoring me!" The elder twin whines.

"Calm down, Nee-san."

I pick that moment to turn around, putting on a look of pleased surprise. "Oh, if it isn't the Sawagi Twins! What are the two of you doing here?"

"Yo, President, Vice-President," Shaga chimes in, "Thought you girls were busy with Student Council work."

"Nee-san, I believe they are mocking us." The younger sister has a frown on her face.

"Honestly!" Her sibling huffs. "I can't believe you two!"

Shaga and I share a snicker as the four of us cross the road. The subsequent conversation confirms my suspicions that the twins are joining the hunt as well.

_I haven't really tussled with them since that first time... maybe they've learned some new tricks. _A slight tingle runs down my arms in anticipation of a fight.

We get another addition to the group at the next intersection, the last one before the supermarket... the Pervert and the Ice Witch, plus a petite spectacled girl with a backpack. After a quick series of introductions through which I find out that the unknown girl is the final member of the Half-Price Food Lovers Club, Oshiroi, the seven of us continue onwards.

Under the cover of Shaga's harassment of Satou, I let myself drift closer to the muttering Oshiroi, curious about what she's saying. _Let's see... _I tune out the background noise and listen in. _...she's speaking DAMN fast... but... Ew. Ew. Ew. It's... I don't think the word 'amazing' applies here... but her mind is a piece of work. And that's Satou's name she's twisting, definitely._

Wincing, I distance myself from the fujoshi (3) and strike up a conversation with the younger of the Sawagi twins. Her calm countenance is quite easy to get along with, but due to her sister's closeness, our discussion of random things is interrupted quite a few times.

_Haiz... _I mentally sigh. _I'm starting to get... _The hairs on my arms tingle. _Excited..._

Just as we reach the supermarket, a motorcycle pulls up and the red-helmeted rider gets off. A glance to the side shows that Shaga recognizes the guy as well.

After all, I nicknamed him (in my mind) based on a piece of clothing that isn't covered by his helmet.

I raise a hand in greeting. "Yo."

Jacket nods to each of us as he puts away his helmet.

_Come to think of it, if this is going to be the last time... I might as well ask his name. _Shrugging, I take the chance to finally satisfy my curiosity.

Turns out the guy's name is Nikaidou, and he's a friend of that Monarch and Macchan. But since I've been using it for so long, I'll just continue calling him Jacket. I just have to avoid using it out loud.

Our group complete, we enter the crowded supermarket. As expected, the place is _packed_! It takes a lot of trouble to make our way through to the shelves, which remain free because of the rules of the wolves.

"Damn, they look delicious." Surprisingly, it's not me who said that, it was Satou.

And I have to agree. "There's even the normal stuff..."

The bentos prepared with the special ingredients are in packed boxes; Ishikari Salmon Rice, Sea Urchin with Salmon Roe, and the full seafood one... I suck my drool back in. _No way I'm going to take one of the usual bentos. _There's only four of the special bentos left, with two of them being the Salmon Rice.

"I had the salmon rice last time, so this time I'll go for the sea urchin one." Shaga muses.

"Then I'll take the salmon rice." Yarizui nods in agreement.

"Eh? I'm going to be competing with you, Sempai?"

"Awawawa... which one should I pick..." Oshiroi mutters to herself.

"Not just the Ice Witch, but we're taking that too." Before Satou can say anything, the twins vanish into the crowd, intent on preparing their usual weapons.

"Whoops, can't forget about that." Shaga mutters, moving off towards the box of disposable chopsticks.

Jacket just glances at the selection before taking off as well, and the rest of us break up to find our place amongst the shelves. Feeling a little curious, I follow after Shaga and grab a few of the chopsticks for myself.

_Let's see... _I twirl the long pieces of wood around my fingers. _Yeah, I can use them. Not much different from Sakuya's knives, just a lot lighter and thinner. _Glancing around to look for a spot away from everyone's attention, I find one and pass through it, throwing one of the chopsticks upwards to test its usability. _Good, I can throw these._

I check the clock near the cashiers. Approximately five minutes to go.

Shaga passes by, fiddling with the chopsticks in her hands with two more behind her ears.

Four minutes.

The Sawagi twins squeeze past me, pretending to look at the goods on display before putting the items they took from the same spot earlier back onto the shelves.

Jacket spends twenty seconds in each aisle looking at some random item before shifting.

Three minutes.

Satou and Yarizui stop moving around, and their eyes lock onto the employees' door.

Oshiroi is quivering with the tension, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.

I can see the golden top of Shaga's head two aisles over when I tiptoe.

Two minutes.

The yellow push doors open, and the mild-looking man comes out with the stickers.

I can feel the tension escalate dramatically; anyone who didn't have an eye on the shelves are looking now.

I don my gloves, ensuring they fit properly with a few smart tugs on the edges, and checking on the chopsticks stuck in the hem of my pants.

The sticking begins.

One minute.

The special bentos have gotten their stickers... hard to tell from my position, but it looks like the full seafood bento is the one with the Honor Seal.

The God has moved on to the normal bentos, and is steadily making progress on his task.

The ones in front tense up in readiness, and those behind them follow their lead and do the same.

Thirty seconds.

The man's body pauses for a moment, and I can practically see his finger frozen just above the plastic covering, the sticker waiting to be applied.

Then he sticks it on, and tucks away the sheets into an apron pocket.

Twenty seconds.

The God of Discounts turns around, glancing at the wolves around the store.

No one is feigning innocence; nobody is looking at the supermarket goods anymore.

He starts walking away, taking slow, deliberate, steps.

Ten seconds.

At the doors, the God pauses once more.

He turns around, and bows slightly, before pushing the doors open and exiting through them.

Five seconds.

The yellow rectangles swivel back and forth on their hinges.

Three seconds.

I realize something. _That guy has DAMN GOOD timing._

One second.

With a soft thump that can be barely heard over the background noise, the doors are irrevocably closed. Funny how a closing door can seem like a dam bursting open. I feel a sense of déjà vu.

A short burst of silence; I realize that I've left my headphones in, and a new song is starting to play.

"**RRRAAAAAAARRHH!**"

As the roar sounds around the place, I jump up on the two guys in front of me, bracing my feet on their hips and giving them both a hammer fist to the temple. They collapse, and I roll with their fall to come up to my feet and running.

The sound of an electric guitar and drums reverberate through my eardrums.

The pressure doesn't stop; I duck and weave, striking at vital areas whenever I get the chance, leaving a wake of wincing or collapsed bodies as I move around.

I sense two things at the same time; one is the foot driving towards me, the other is the rhythm of the song saying that the lyrics are going to begin.

My senses suddenly snap to attention, and I turn slightly to intercept a heavy kick from Shaga on my arm.

_**KOYOI, TSUKI WA, AKAKU SOMARI**_

"Oh? You're carrying chopsticks too." Her lips twist into a smirk. "Copying me?"

I push her leg away, causing her to spin around to recover. She immediately slips it into a follow up attack, thrusting one of the chopsticks she's holding at me.

I slap it away and counter with a punch.

_**UETA, KEMONO, MURAGARI**_

Shaga ducks underneath, stepping in for a body shot, but I fend her off by raising my knee.

The next instant, we break apart as other wolves crash our party. I hop back, twisting to punch one of the interlopers as Shaga turns to deal with hers.

Despite his block, the force goes through and causes the hoodie-wearing wolf to stagger slightly, giving me the opening to put him down with an uppercut to the solar plexus.

_**UMAI, NIOI, SHITA NAMEZURI**_

My body continues to move by instinct; my right leg snaps up and out in a side kick, meeting Shaga's chopstick-tipped charge with a sole.

"Heh," Her body is quivering with the force she's exerting, "Come on then!"

My ankle twists, slipping above her tools.

She immediately disengages before I can stomp down, retreating and taking out another wolf as she goes.

_**NIRAMIAU DEAD OR ALIVE?**_

All around us, wolves are tussling with each other. Satou is holding his own against a trio, dealing three blows for each one he gets, gradually drawing closer to Jacket, who's doing pretty good himself. Wonder if they'll fight each other, or team up...

...against the Sawagi twins, who are baffling their victims as they scythe through the crowd like a whirlwind.

And in a corner of her own, Yarizui is beating down all opposition as they rush her in an attempt to slow her advance towards the bentos.

_**DARE NI MO YUZURENAI MONO GA ARU**_

Yeah, I can't let that happen; particularly that glasses girl... Oshiroi, wasn't it? She's doing a pretty good job of slipping towards the prizes.

_Let's give it a try._ I duck slightly and ram an elbow into the gut of the guy trying to attack me from behind, and draw out one of the chopsticks with the other hand. _Position, grip, balance, all check. And... THROW!_

The thin piece of wood strikes her on the side of her neck, making her yelp.

Instantly, the attention of at least ten wolves fall on her, and the realization of the sneak in their midst follows right after.

Coincidentally, one of them happens to be Satou.

_**TAORETE MO NANDO DEMO TACHIAGARU**_

I make sure to keep an eye on the guy, who bravely stood in the way of the wolves to defend his clubmate...

And got pummeled for it.

_Ouch, that's pretty rough for someone who hasn't been trained. _A smirk crosses my lips as Satou gets up again and again. _Hang in there, dude._

_**KONO YO WA JAKU-NIKU, KYOSHOKU SUEZEN KUU YORI**_

"Don't look away now!"

I step back to avoid the roundhouse kick, then slide forward for a spear-hand thrust.

Shaga halts it by pinching my hand between two sets of chopsticks. _Ow, that pinches._

A quick twist of my hand disengages, and we dispatch another wave of interlopers.

_**SHISHI O FURUTTE TSUKAMITORE**_

_Oh, it's reaching the chorus now. _I can't help bursting into high gear as the drums at the end of the bridge (4) pick up speed.

Punch, side kick, elbow, front kick, roundhouse kick!

My fighting style can be considered similar to Muhammad Ali's: float like a butterfly and sting like a bee, though I rather refer to it as float like a cloud and strike like a storm (5); one after another, wolves fall to my blows.

_**KAKERO PRIDE! SHINU MADE OOKAMI**_

The lyrics of the song strikes a chord in me; when I started training with Meiling, I staked everything I had, all for the sake of my pride and desire to survive in Gensokyo.

Okay, in this case, what's on the line is my pride as a wolf; obtaining food is paramount- _Uh oh._

My eyes widen when Yarizui suddenly skids to a halt in front of me. Her lips move; even if I can't hear her over the music and the din of the fighting.

_You're forgetting your pride._

_**MAKE-INU NI NARU, TSUMORI WA NAI!**_

The Ice Witch lashes out with a kick, which I barely manage to parry.

It's heavy... having been trained in the use of Ki, or life energy, I can pick up some basic emotions.

Yarizui's desire for food as a wolf... overwhelming would be the least of its descriptions.

But that doesn't mean I'm unable to match her. I have no desire to lose out in any way.

_**ASE WA SPICE, KIZUATO KAGAYAKU**_

I chuckle inwardly at the second line of the chorus; sweat being the spice is an apt description for the taste of victory.

My knees bend slightly, and I feel the energy being channeled up through my body.

I remember how it was like when Meiling demonstrated this move months ago. It's like a coiled spring... times ten.

One moment I'm wound up like I'm trying to accumulate energy, the next my elbow smashes straight into Yarizui's heel.

_**SHOURI NO AJI O KAMISHIMETE, TSUGI NO STAGE E~**_

It's actually quite unfair, if you think about it. On one hand, you have a person who has trained for at least three hours every day for a few months, and enhanced by Ki. On the other end is a young girl who has a brawling style utilizing kicks, and rarely takes hits.

She goes flying, but her sudden halt is cushioned by the people she crashes into.

"Care to play with us?"

_Damn, this really is the next stage, huh? _I muse to myself, briefly noting Yarizui regaining her balance before more wolves swarm her.

_**YABAI AMAI WANA NI HAMARI**_

The Sawagi twins are next up; they move in unison, weaving a trap, with the elder's sweet-sounding laughter taunting me as they dance around.

_Crap, they got the drop on me. And they changed their movement patterns. It's not going to be easy getting a read on it while I'm in the thick of it._

For the moment, I'm in the eye of the storm, but it's not going to last.

With a tinkling chuckle, one of the Kyous falls towards me, her limbs extended out like a wrestler performing a high-risk maneuver, and her long hair flowing out behind her.

_**KIKI GA, SEMARU, NAWABARI**_

Trusting my instincts, I sway, duck, sidestep, as if dancing around my two partners. _Guess they haven't learned enough to try feints yet, _I muse in my mind, tilting my head out of the way of a kick. _I haven't even started parrying yet._

Something suddenly slams into the back of my knees, and my eyes barely manage to widen in surprise before a series of hits crash all over my body.

"Guh!" _Shit, what happened? Did I let my guard down?_

_**YUDAN SUREBA, SOKO DE OWARI**_

_Damn, this song is somehow matching what's happening to me. I BLAME YUKARI!_

"Haaaa..." I exhale harshly, and devote my full concentration to my upper body.

Upper left, deflect to the right. Bottom right, parry outwards. I'm still falling forwards.

Roundhouse towards the back of my head, block with my right arm. Straight coming for my chin, block with left elbow. Nearly near the final point.

_**NIRAMIAU DEAD OR ALIVE?**_

One of the twins (the younger one, from the hair) pulls her hand back, grimacing and hissing with the pain.

I bend my body, and curl forwards into a roll. _Just who hit my legs? _I take the chance to glance behind me as my head goes under. _Huh, the basket, they threw it?_

That's actually unexpected; the twins rely heavily on their baskets for their defense and mobility. For them to risk it in an attack...

"Kyou~" The elder sister whines, "It's not working~"

"Don't give up, Nee-san," Her sister encourages, bouncing off the ceiling, "We managed to hit him."

_And it hurt. _I grumble in my mind as I bounce up to my feet.

_**TATAKAU RIYUU BARABARA DEMO**_

I take a slight risk and extend my awareness out towards the rest of the place; Satou and Oshiroi are holding up well, Yarizui is facing off against Jacket and Shaga in a three-way, leaving me against the twins while the other wolves continue to rage against each other.

In a moment, I make my decision. _What was that one... cry havoc and... oh yeah, let loose the dogs of war. Or something like that._

_**TSUDOU NAKAMA SHINJIRARERU**_

_For once, the lyrics don't match up with reality. _I tune out the music in favor of letting out that inner beast.

My hands, initially clenched into the form of fists, open up to become more claw-like.

A low guttural growl escapes my lips as they pull back, exposing the teeth beneath.

Everyone stiffens as I release my Ki.

_Go. _

What happens next is a blur... I feel some impacts on my body, but nowhere critical.

Without any restraint, my attacks would have maimed at the minimum. As it is, even with Yukari's gloves, anyone I land a clean blow on isn't getting up. And even with a shield...

"KYAAAH!"

"NEE-SAN!"

_You don't have the endurance to take hits, Kyou Sawagi. Nor do you have the time to worry about your sister, Kyou Sawagi. _The moment the younger sibling's attention wavers, I close in on her and grab her arm.

Then I fling her halfway across the battleground with a sharp twist of my body, separating her from her sister.

_That should disable them for a bit. _My attention flashes to the remainder. _The way is open!_

Of course, it's not that easy.

Yet again, another person appears in my way. "Round two, Ikuto."

"Shaga."

Those are the only words that passed between us before we start tearing into each other with scary ferocity.

Her fighting style is relatively simple; the basic one of countering with chopsticks isn't effective as my blows tend to slide around, so she resorts to a flurry of stabbing strikes, which are clearly meant to soften me up for a heavier attack like a kick.

After a few moments of using my hands, I decide to annoy her a little by using her own moves.

As I spin out of the way of another thrust, I take advantage of the motion to draw my own chopsticks. The look on Shaga's face would be hilarious if I wasn't already focused on fighting.

The thin pieces of wood are unwieldy at first, but my fingers soon grow accustomed to manipulating them. I use them to block and slash her attacks away, and we both grimace at the vibrations our weapons make scraping against each other.

A flick of my wrist reverses the chopsticks in my right hand, and I drive the point towards her side, just as she stabs for my wrist.

I remember a time where I used to spar against different people, and I found that due to the difference in body structure influencing the styles, it was possible to have simultaneous blows interact at ways that are... unpleasant.

Our chopsticks shatter against each other, but unlike the blonde, I've learned not to pause; I raise my leg up for a front kick.

Shaga crosses her arms in front of her body.

I hop off my other foot and use it to whack her in the shin. The expression on her face makes me snort in spite of the tension.

She lets out some pretty foul curse words, letting her guard weaken.

My attack accomplished, the foot I used lands, and becomes the support for the still-raised leg's attack.

"GAAAH!" Shaga cries out as she crashes into the pillar meters away from me.

"Shaga!" I hear Satou's exclamation, and turn to check.

_He's far away, good. Let's go for the food! _I turn back to go for the bentos, throwing the remaining pair of chopsticks in my hand to distract the guy who was about to grab one, and watch him get piled upon.

I can barely hear the music through the pounding of my own blood, but it sounds like the second chorus is just coming to an end.

But I don't have the freedom to get back into the rhythm, as Yarizui comes back for a rematch.

And somehow much stronger. Her kicks and punches are vicious, possessing the ferocity of an actual wolf.

I duck under a scything heel, avoid the following punch, then block the knee aimed at my midsection.

"Grk!" The grunt comes from the elbow drop she tried to land on my head, but failed.

_Damn, she's not holding back, is she. _I whirl around and strike out with my palms, knuckles, and elbows. _Dodging pretty well, but-!_

I slide into a block-breaking combo; a flurry of chops aimed at various angles to force her on the defensive, followed by a sliding step to seal off one of her legs. A quick block to defend against her counter, and I get her guard up against with two quick palm strikes.

Then I take her by surprise with a nice left hook that goes behind her guard, sending her crashing to the floor.

Once again, I turn to resume my advance towards the shelves and the prizes on them. My hand extends out, fingers grasping for that box I'm aiming for.

"I WANNA EAT THAT BENTOOOOO!" Of all people, Satou suddenly appears, grabbing for the same bento as me.

_What the heck. _His appearance takes me by surprise, giving him the opportunity to latch onto the box at the same time I do. _Damn!_

Fighting with one hand isn't easy... no matter how much Neo makes it look when he was going against Smith in The Matrix. The bento gets jerked around as I try to attack and defend at the same time, without the use of my legs as the proximity to the shelves doesn't give me enough freedom.

Satou keeps glancing at the bento, but his inattention doesn't seem to impede his fighting ability. _Amazing what you can do with a source of motivation. _

I aim a strike at his wrist, but he slaps it away and goes for my head, forcing me to lean to the side. Before I can trap his extended arm, he draws it back and attacks again.

On and on it goes, an attack is met with a counter, which is dodged, and the recipient throws back an attack of his own.

I can feel the material beneath my fingers creaking slightly, as the rising tension between me and Satou affects the strength I'm using.

_This isn't working out... time to resort to punishing methods. _I alter my tactics to be totally on the defensive, but in a manner that would cause stinging pain each time I block.

Despite the adrenaline, I can tell that I'm gradually wearing him down, as he winces slightly with each parrying slap.

_And... NOW!_ I don't release the bento, because once I do, it counts as his; I feint with my hand, goading him into dodging a nonexistent strike, then kick in the shin to make him flinch for a moment. _It's over!_

A vicious straight snaps his head to the side as I step in with the leg I used to kick, putting down a support, and use it in an elbow backswing that knocks his head the other way.

Satou's fingers weaken, and finally let go. The bento finally lands into my possession, no longer contended for.

"UUOOOHHHHHH!" I howl out to signify my win.

_**SHOURI NO AJI O KAMISHIMETE**_

The chorus line adds a nice touch to my victory.

* * *

><p>"Oi, Yarizui. Trade you this for one of yours." I hold up the offending piece.<p>

"You don't like squid?" The Ice Witch asks, but exchanges it with me anyway.

"Too chewy for my liking." I mutter, before putting the piece of meat into my mouth.

Off to the side, the Pervert is grumbling over his failure to procure a bento of his own. Of our group of eight, I, Yarizui and one of the Kyou sisters managed to get a special bento. Oshiroi and Shaga managed to get a normal one, leaving Jacket, Satou and one of the other sisters with no choice but to buy instant ramen to fill their stomachs.

My seafood bento is actually quite good, apart from my own picky eating habits stopping me from enjoying some of the more exotic offerings. Throw in the taste of victory, and the entire meal is actually DAMN delicious.

I pause for a moment to glance at the cover of the bento, where the Honor Seal is. _So this is it, huh? I finished getting one Honor Seal from every store. That means my job in this place is done._

"What are you thinking about, Ikuto? Your expression is weird." Shaga asks.

_Must be a wistful expression, I guess. I enjoyed my time here. _"It's nothing. Just that I'm moving." I give as an excuse.

"**You're moving?**" Everyone except Yarizui and Oshiroi exclaims.

"Yep. Going back to the countryside to rejoin my relatives." The lie comes off my tongue very easily.

"Will you be coming back?" One of the twins ask.

I shrug. "Maybe, but I'm not too sure of that." _Depends on Yukari, and she's impossible to predict outside of the fact that she likes to screw with my life._

"Well," Shaga stands up and walks over to me, "I suppose I have to wish you well." She holds out a hand, and I take it gratefully.

This causes the rest of them to start doing the same, interrupting my dinner. I notice Yarizui waited until she finished her meal before doing the same, which cements her impression as a true wolf in my mind.

I don't let myself feel much regret over leaving, since it was by Yukari's will that I ended up here in the first place. Besides, if fate decreed that we were to meet again, then I have no objections whatsoever. Part of me is amused by the fact that I'm living up to my nickname; I appear and vanish, just like an illusion.

Eventually, my bento is empty, and in the bin. I exchange one last round of farewells with everyone, before heading over to where Yukari is sitting, looking up at the moon.

"Here." I hold out the Honor Seal.

She takes it and sticks it into the book, completing the collection. "Thank you."

I take a seat next to her. "So..."

"So..." She echoes.

"That's it then. No more sticker collecting for me."

"No more sticker collecting." Yukari confirms.

I stare at her. _I don't like that smile on her face. _

"By the way, you still have something to return to me."

_What is she... oh. Damn. _I take out the Ipod, MY Ipod, and hand it over. _Battery's dead anyway, and I can't recharge it in Gensokyo._

"You have a party to attend, so let's get you back, shall we?" Her words trigger a memory in me, but too late to do any good.

_Dammit! I let my guard down! _I think furiously as the ground drops out from beneath me.

Before the silence of the place in-between wipes out my hearing, I hear Yukari says something else.

"I think I might find something else for you to do."

* * *

><p>(1) Kappas are youkais affiliated with water. They have a bowl on top of their heads which they have to keep filled with water, or they will lose their strength. The usual folklore has kappas living in rivers where people cross, quite like the Western trolls, and they can be bribed for passage with cucumbers, which is their favorite meal. Gensokyo kappas are different; they are mechanical savants, capable of inventing all sorts of technological stuff.<p>

(2) Sanae Kochiya, first boss of Mountain of Faith. She has a thing about exterminating other youkais, despite the fact that her patron goddess is surviving off faith from tengus and kappas. She often says that common sense has no application in Gensokyo, which is quite true.

(3) Female otaku, with interests in the area of male-male relationships. Check out Genshiken for some good examples.

(4) The part leading up to a song's chorus.

(5) The descriptions come from Katekyo Hitman Reborn, based on the descriptions of the Seven Flames of the Sky.

And that spells the end of the Ben-To arc. It's tough trying to write this with distractions abound, but I finally managed it. Now I can get back to working on my main story, which will still take quite a while as exams are approaching.

I tried putting in the song of Live for Life, the opening song of the Ben-To anime, but I found it was interfering with the fight scene, so I eventually cut it out. I think I managed to hold it well enough though.

In all honesty, I started out with quite a bit of motivation, but that died out as time wore on, since I needed time to plan how the story would go, and as we all know, time erodes away at everything. It doesn't help that new interests come into being, taking more time away from me and my ability to craft these tales.

I'm starting to go off track, so I'll just end it right here. This story will take a short hiatus while the main one continues, but eventually Ikuto will go on another errand for Yukari again.

Have fun guessing which world it will be next!


	7. MHF2: New Job Posting

**Well, this fanfic is finally getting another update. Thanks to all those who are following this!**

* * *

><p>I blink. There's a wooden ceiling in front of my eyes. <em>Where am I? What happened to me?<em>

Then I remember. I was fighting against... no, to _prevent_ the unleashing of EX-Rumia. (1) I succeeded, but I got caught in the backlash of the sealing at the end, because a certain bastard didn't do anything to help me.

"I see you're awake."

I pause, then close my eyes resignedly. "Yukari. What happened to me?"

"Not much." There's a pause which I know to mean that she's waiting for the right time to deliver the line. "You just went back in time."

My eyes fly open. "WHAT?"

The amusement is evident in her voice. "Remember the trip to the beach? That was only a few days ago."

"That was a few months ago for me." I close my eyes again. "So, there's another me running around?"

She must have nodded, despite me not seeing it. "Correct. Unfortunately, your current existence in Gensokyo is an anomaly. I'm afraid until you, the past you," Yukari corrects herself, "Encounters whatever event that brought you here, you will have to stay away from Gensokyo."

"You do know that you were indirectly connected to that event, don't you?"

"Time traveling is such a troublesome issue." Yukari murmurs, ignoring my earlier comment. "It is a good thing they don't occur that often."

_So this sort of thing has occurred before? Damn. _"So where should I go? Back to my original world? I've been out of touch for more than a year already, you know."

Turning my head, I face Yukari, who's sitting by the side of the futon. _I really don't like the look on her face..._

"I have just the place for you to go!" The gap hag announces cheerily. "You'll definitely love it!"

_Somehow, hearing that from you doesn't exactly fill me with trust. _"Uh huh. How long before I'm recovered to make the trip?"

Yukari taps her closed fan against her chin. "By tomorrow, at the very least."

I close my eyes and turn my head back to face the ceiling. "Okay. I'm going to sleep now."

If normal Rumia can manipulate darkness, then what does her unsealed form, EX-Rumia manipulate? It certainly seems capable enough of sending me through time.

...

_I'm gonna stop thinking about that. It's giving me a headache. Just accept it and move on._

* * *

><p>I gaze around the all-new yet familiar surroundings, my left eye twitching as I take in the view. <em>I'm not sure whether to thank her or try to kill her for this.<em>

We're standing up on a slope in a village set on the side of a mountain covered in snow. In the distance are similarly snow-covered mountains, and there's something flying around one of the peaks. I can see four buildings in front of me, all of them bearing snow on their roofs. Now that I notice it, it is kind of cold here.

Then I realize I _know_ those buildings. The one on my left is a house, while the two straight ahead are shops. The last one at the far end of the village is the largest, and is a hall for gatherings. Next to it is a path that goes down the mountain, and to the other side of the path is a gigantic stone, capped in a blue mineral and encircled with a thick rope. And on my right is a water-powered mechanism that runs a cable car system leading somewhere down off the mountain.

"Well?" Yukari's tone is filled with silent laughter. "I'm sure you recognize this place, don't you?"

I nod dumbly.

"Of course, there are a few _differences_." She comments. "One thing is that this is one of those places you would describe as a crossover."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Take a look." Yukari points down at the village.

I squint to see what she's pointing at. Then I spot it, and turn to face Yukari with an incredulous expression. "So it's not cats here, it's rabbits?"

"Well, there are cats as well. And ravens. And dolls."

I facepalm. _So, in addition to Tewi, there's Satori and Alice as well. _I take another look at the shops. "Rinnosuke? And the Aki sisters too? Is that _Akyuu_?"

"Yes, yes, and yes." Yukari replies.

"..." Suffice to say, I'm dumbfounded.

"Well, what do you think?"

I close my eyes and consider my options for a while. Then I open them and ask, "Can I hug you?"

Yukari smiles. "Why, yes you can."

However, I don't go for a frontal hug, but move around to her back grasp her around the waist. It's thinner than I thought, but surprisingly nice to hug.

Then I perform a belly-to-back suplex.

She gets her revenge by dropping me into her pocket dimension and blasting me with danmaku afterwards, but I have to say it was worth it.

Because Yukari Yakumo has dropped me into the world of Monster Hunter. Monster Hunter Freedom 2, if you want to be specific.

* * *

><p><strong>Part 1: Orientation in Pokke<strong>

"Ahh... you're awake."

I'm lying on a bed looking up at the wooden ceiling. I try to move my body.

"No, no... you shouldn't get up yet. It's best if you rest for just a little while longer." The man sitting next to the bed tells me.

"I heal fast." I tell the guy.

"Well, if you say so." He shrugs and walks out of the room.

I manage to gather enough strength to sit up soon after, and take a look around the place I woke up in. The bed is rough, but big and comfortable. To my right is a set of drawers stacked with books, with some candles nearby. (_Who's the idiot who puts fire near books?_) There's a firepit, with a kettle hanging above it from the ceiling. Next to it is a huge chest, about the height of my waist. There's a doorway opposite the one the man exited from leading deeper into the house, but it's blocked up by a folding screen.

I roll out of bed and head over to the chest. I notice my key for my usual abilities is gone, but I still have the magic ring on my left hand. If worse comes to worst, I can pull out some emergency moves. There's a note from Yukari telling me to just stay put until she comes for me. It's better than nothing.

The chest is stocked with several pieces of equipment, most importantly armor that is lined with fur, and _WARM_. I don them immediately and pick my choice of weapon.

_Great Sword, Long Sword, Hammer, Hunting Horn, Lance, Gunlance, Sword & Shield, Dual Blades, Light and Heavy Bowguns, and a Bow. I choose... this one!_

All of them are made of bone, but there's no doubt they're sturdy, and perfect to start out with. Anyway, armed with my choice of weapon, I head out of the house. Walking down the slope, I spot the guy who was with me earlier and make my way over to him.

_Generic character with no relation to Touhou storyline... _I get his attention.

"Ahh... you're awake? How are you? Still in pain?"

I shake my head.

"Hmm... It seems you're alright..." The man muses. "I found you collapsed on a slope near here. If I left you there, you'd be nothing but an ice cube by now. Thank me later..." Then he starts. "Oh! How rude of me! Allow me to introduce myself. I am the hunter attached to this village. Or at least I used to be."

The question in my face must have been evident, because he continues on.

"A wyvern attacked and injured me, forcing me into retirement." The hunter explains. "That is why we sent for you. You were to become my replacement."

_Nice job setting all this up, Yukari. _I think as I nod.

"Which left me in a jam when you collapsed in that snowdrift. I had no idea what I should do..."

I had the grace to look slightly embarrassed. _My fault for provoking Yukari._

"A new village with new things... I'm sure you have plenty of questions to ask. I'm here to answer as many as I can."

He goes on to tell me that the equipment left in the chest were his old stuff. Not great, but should be handy, according to him. He recommended the sword. He also tells me to get better armor than this warm suit I have on, with additional advice for Hot Drinks in cold environments.

I know all of this, of course. Even if I haven't played Monster Hunter for several years already, there are some things that aren't easily forgotten. Once he's done talking, I go around the village to talk to people I recognize but don't actually know.

Rinnosuke happens to be a weapons crafter, and tells me to bring him things to upgrade my equipment to become better, or make armor. The girl next to him goes by the name Tokiko, similarly white-haired, but with blue bangs and sidelocks. She runs the selling side of the shop, but what she offers isn't much better than mine, apart from metal versions of the weapons and leather versions of the armor. Unfortunately, I don't have any cash on me at the moment, so I move on without getting anything.

The general store next to it is manned by the Aki sisters, Minoriko and Shizuha. Well, I suppose selling typical herbs and stuff suit them, but they tell me that they don't have their full stock as their last hunter's retirement has cut off their usual supply routes. And guess who they have their hopes pinned on? Me. I take a look at what they currently have, but like before, no money.

There's no old lady next to the guild hall entrance, but Tewi instead, hefting a gigantic bag of stuff. Apparently this version is something of a backpacker, and offers to buy and sell just about anything. She also tells me she has a twin sister, from which I can hire Usagis (2) to do my cooking for me or accompany me on my hunts. The headache that bit of new induces gets too much for me after a while, so I go over to talk to this world's version of Akyuu.

The small bundle of cloth turns to face me when I walk up, and a tiny hand tugs down the facial covering to reveal the face of Gensokyo's historian. "It looks like you're awake! I was so shocked to hear that a hunter had fallen on the path to our village!"

"I'm fine now, thanks." _She's much more energetic compared to the Akyuu I know. Still, is she this bundled up because of her health?_

"Oh my... I haven't introduced myself! I'm the chief of this village, Pokke Village. Can you believe a young child like me can be chief?"

_You're talking to somebody who has spent the past year living in a place where common sense doesn't really apply. _I nod, smiling. "You're in front of me, aren't you?"

Akyuu grins back. "Anyway, I'm hoping I can convince you to settle down as a hunter in this village. You know the house you woke up in? You can stay there as long as you like."

"Thanks."

"Also, I'd like you to show me your strength by completing an easy quest that was requested nearby here." Akyuu pauses, tilting her head curiously. "That's okay with you, right?"

"Easy? What does it involve?" _Healthy suspicion goes a long way. That's the point of the word 'healthy'._

Her expression falls. "Maybe you're still recovering. Well, you can try some of the other quests from other areas once you feel up to it. Just make sure to rest up a bit first."

She fills me in on the Gathering Hall behind me and other stuff that I already know. Part of me wonders if some of the hunters I might work with in future will be versions of Touhou girls I already know. Akyuu then recalls something, and wriggles a gloved hand out of her wrappings to hand me some money to get started with, according to her (1500z, enough for two iron weapons). She tells me to check out the shops, redundant advice, but good-willed nonetheless.

"If there's something you don't understand about hunting, go to the Training School. You see the path of the left of the Gathering Hall, right?"

I turn to look, finally spotting the path I missed before. _Heh, of all things to forget about, I forgot about the Training School. Not like I really needed it. But then again, that was a game, this is my current reality. Better to play it safe and check it out. _I return my attention to Akyuu and nod.

"Go straight down that path to go to the Training School. If Quests are getting too hard, go there to toughen up!" She makes a fist to emphasize her words.

_That's cute..._

"Hmm..." Akyuu pauses thoughtfully. "Well then... Good luck out there! Don't overdo it, okay? I'm looking forward to watching your progress!"

After messing around in the village for a while (Buying Iron Pickaxes!), I decide to just bite down and tackle things straight on, so I head back to Akyuu and ask her for a quest. Obviously, she only allows me to choose from the first rank quests. There are five of them, two slaying quests and three gathering quests, and all five are in the Snowy Mountains. Too bad she won't allow me to handle more than one of them at the same time...

Since I'm going to be here for the long run, it's best to play things smart. That means first getting the lay of the land, which is why I pick the one that requires me to gather herbs. The one asking for Anteka antlers isn't a bad choice either, but I'd like to get a feel for the gathering locations.

With quest picked, I head back to the house to gear up, before going down the path off the mountain, where a trio of Usagis are waiting for me. The Mountains are quite a distance away, and it looks like I might be in for a long walk. Along the way, one of the Usagis hands me a flat box that is supposed to go on my left arm. It turns out to be Hunter Guild-issued equipment, one that will display the time remaining for my quest and other functions that are meant to be used on a group hunt.

The trip turns out to be not actually as long as I expected, and we soon make it to the camp area, where the Usagis set up the tent and stock up the supply chest. I take a look around at the trees before grabbing the stuff from the supply chest. A map, whetstones, potions, rations, hot drinks, and a cooking spit. It only takes me a few moments to re-familiarize myself with the eight Areas on the map, but I keep it with me just to be safe. If I were to focus on the main objective, I won't have to go past Areas One and Two, but I brought pickaxes along for a reason.

The trek to the base of the mountain looks like it'll be long, so I down the rations and head down the path, waving to the Usagis as I go. I don't feel the supposed stamina increase, but then again, game versus reality.

The narrow path finally opens up onto flat ground, next to a lake. There are a few animals that look like a cross between a cow and a mammoth, bearing the woolly fur and the tusks of the latter. _What was their name... ah, yes, Popos! Time for some hunting!_

I run closer. The Popos continue to graze peacefully.

I draw my Bone Scythes. They continue to ignore me.

What occurs next is fast, brutal, and totally one-sided. Just because I don't have my key, doesn't mean I don't have certain other abilities. One of them happens to be Ki, which not only allows me to put quite a bit of power behind my strikes, but I can also channel them into my weapons to make them much sharper.

_Eww... I didn't expect this much blood. _I ignore the blood on my clothes, but wipe my weapons off on the fur before sheathing them and drawing out my hunting blade. _Time to get carving._

I get three loads of Raw Meat, a Brute Bone, and one Popo Tongue from the three Popos. That done, I begin searching the area for herbs, and find two of them, both near the water. Neither of them has a Mountain Herb, but I get a few seeds.

_Let's see, where should I go next... _I consult the map. _Okay, I remember not liking Area Two that much, because the two routes from Seven and Three are damn high up. I can climb better with my abilities, but I still don't like it. That leaves Area Four next!_

I climb up the two ledges and head into a cave. It's dark, but my eyes soon get used to it. On the other hand, the cold isn't so easily adapted to, and I drink a Hot Drink as I emerge into an icy cavern with a giant hole in the center. There aren't any Giaprey in the area, so I just run around checking the walls and the ground for possible gathering spots.

I soon find a mining point near the far end of the cavern, next to a beehive. Iron Ore and Honey, GET! A search near some icicles nets me four Ice Crystals. As I'm climbing up a series of ledges to head towards Area Five, I find yet another mining point, getting myself a Machalite Ore. Weapons aren't the only thing that can be reinforced by Ki; I doubt I'll need to buy the higher quality ones at this rate. Once I'm done mining, I enter Area Five. There's a bunch of plants near the exit to the outside of the mountain, and I manage to grab my first few Mountain Herbs, enough to meet the quest requirements.

On exiting the place, I shrink back slightly at the chilly wind blowing into my face. There are a few deer-like creatures there; according to the quest list, these are Antekas, and I'll need their antlers for the next quest. Best get started.

Minutes later, I finished harvesting their carcasses. _That's two pelts and one antler... well, can't always be so lucky. _

Moving around the place, I find the remains of a camp, and immediately recall it's a harvest spot. I manage to get a Paintball, but nothing else. Well, it's not like I'll get a monster to actually require using it for. There's also another plant gathering spot, and I get a few Antidote Herbs from it. The roots go further than I can dig, which explains how they can 'regenerate' for a second visit. There are also a number of Popos, and I get yet another Popo Tongue.

I consider visiting the peak, before deciding not to and just heading back. According to the timer, I've been on this quest for about twenty minutes already. Looking around one last time, I head south, passing through a narrow opening between the rocks, until I finally reach a cliff that looks far down into the flat ground of Area Two.

_Here goes... _I take a run at the edge and jump. "GERONIMOOOOOOO!"

The ground hurtles up to meet me, but just before I actually hit, I trigger the magic in my ring, and my fall slows to a gentle descent, until I touch down safely. In the game, the hunter could make that jump with zero damage. Then again, in the game, there were invisible barriers that kept people from falling off the edges of plunging precipices and into certain death.

Before I leave the area, I slaughter the Antekas there and harvest them, getting me the antlers I need to complete the next quest. I also practice my cooking skills, and quickly convert the Raw Meat into BBQ Meat, which I tuck away to eat some other time. Still not feeling any hunger though; those rations must be working.

Anyway, that's it for my current quest. I head back through Area One and to the base camp, where I dump the Mountain Herbs into the red chest, completing it. As a reward, I get one Honey, one Small Monster Bone, and two Sap Plants, plus some money. Meh, this isn't worth the effort of climbing the mountain.

After heading back to Pokke Village, I sign up for the other quest, and turn in the Anteka Antlers right away. I could have went for another mining run, but I didn't really feel like it. The Popo quest is finished quickly after as well, and I return to the village for the final time that day. All in all, this was a good day's work!

Tomorrow, I shall start on the slaying quests. I wonder how long before I start missing Gensokyo?

* * *

><p>(1) Refer to Keys to the Heart, Chapter 54 for details.<p>

(2) Usagi means Rabbit in Japanese. My version of Felynes.

And so, while Keys to the Heart goes on hiatus, I shall begin writing for this fanfic again! A true Touhou-MHF2 crossover! Ideas will come randomly, but be prepared to see Monster Hunter versions of the usual Touhou girls!


	8. MHF2: First Blooding

I wake up and yawn as I roll out of bed. There's much to be done today, the second day of my time here. Within minutes, I'm suited up and ready to roll. As I leave, I take a glance at the screen covering the kitchen. The damn thing is sealed by a special kind of key... one that apparently only opens to Usagis. Way to force the game system onto me, Yukari.

On exiting the place, I notice someone standing near the outcropping just outside. From behind, it looks like a gigantic backpack, but the sight of an Usagi slumped across the gigantic bone at the top arouses a feeling of excitement in me. Crossing my fingers for luck, I hurry over to talk to the person.

_Yep, it's Tewi, another Tewi. _"Yo."

Unlike her junk-collecting counterpart, this Tewi's clothes has a teal scheme to them, plus there's another Usagi hanging off the side. In spite of that, Usagi Tewi doesn't seem encumbered in the least.

"Yo, yourself." Usagi Tewi grins. "I'm the granny who takes care of getting these Usagis work. You're a hunter, ain'tcha?"

I nod. "Granny? You don't look that age."

"Aw, isn't it nice of you to say so?" Usagi Tewi tilts her head, making her bunny ears flop around. "Anyway, how about trying some of these Usagis as workers?"

"As Chefs, right?" _I didn't play Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, so I'm only familiar with chefs._

"I've got those, and I've got Usagi Comrades too. They're a hunter's best friend."

Usagi Tewi gives me an explanation of the two. Chefs cook gourmet meals to boost my stats... which I'm wondering whether will it apply to my current situation. She offers me a free choice of one as a promotion offer, with the extraction of a promise to pay for any future ones. Then there are Usagi Comrades; those are meant to accompany me on quests, to play one of several roles depending on their type. There are other restrictions, like not bringing them on dangerous or group quests, but I can handle those.

"So, I've got these five, take your pick." She hands me five documents detailing the Usagis she has in stock.

_Let's see... Charl, Lau, Cecil, Houki, Lin... levels are 1 or 2, I should focus on ingredients mainly... the food specialty skills aren't really much to bother about at the moment. Ooh, this one has 3 star skill for meat as a main ingredient, lucky! Skills... Usagi Kicker, Usagi Negotiation, and... Ultra Lucky Bunny! Bingo! _

I return the papers. "I'll take Lau."

The Usagi immediately steps forward. It's light grey in color around the head, but pale white below that. For some reason it's wearing an eyepatch over its left eye, and it's wearing a grey coat of a slightly darker tone.

"Pleasure doing business with you." Usagi Tewi says, "Sorry, but I gotta go. I'll be back, so if you want to hire others, just say so, yeah? Don't know when I'll be here though!" She grins. "If you want to hire more though, you need to be a more reliable hunter. I'll be happy to do business with you then."

_Just like the Tewi I know. Teasing with the bait, then pulling it away. _I think to myself fondly as I lead my new tenant back to the house, where it unlocks and removes the screen. While it putters around inside, I head over to the chest to sort through the spoils of my gathering quest. The materials I just dump straight into the chest, while I keep the Paintball I picked up on me. When I finally look up from arranging the stuff (no auto-arrange, damn), there's a cloth screen hanging in the doorway, signaling the kitchen's readiness.

I enter it to see Lau scampering all over the kitchen. _Wow... it's pretty cooking-ready for something that's been boarded up. _

Lau finally jumps off the big table in the center and looks at me expectantly. I stare back.

We spend about two minutes just staring at each other, until Lau speaks first. Turns out Lau is female.

"Welcome, Gastronome! Thanks for hiring me -usa!" A paw rubs her face. "I promise to make you great food, so bon appetit -usa!"

She explains that meals are free if only one Usagi is cooking, but the price increases with the number of staff. Just like the game. According to my memory, Meat and Vegetable is a beneficial combo, but that's for a five-Felyne staff. So, I just decide to play it safe and go with that. I sit at the table and ring the bell.

"What'll it be -usa?" Lau asks.

I check the list of ingredients. "Uhh... Meat Scraps and..." _Good, there's vegetables on this list. _"Jungle Onion."

"Got it!"

If I recall correctly, there should be a scene where Lau prepares the food while I bob up and down with utensil in hand... basically looking like an idiot. I'll pass on that, thank you very much. Anyway, I get a simple meal in front of me, but it smells good enough that I dig in right away. Once again, I feel no evident effect, but I'm sure there is something.

"Thanks for the meal!" _And now it's time for hunting! _I head out to see Akyuu again after changing my equipment.

This time, I grab the Giaprey quest. Five of them... it's not going to be hard at all.

* * *

><p><strong>Part 2: Slaying Beginnings<strong>

I take my time on it, harvesting even more Honey, Ice Crystals and Iron Ore on my way to Area 5, where I know a few Giaprey will be. I need to start planning long term... I know what weapons I want, but the armor is going to be a problem... maybe start off with the crab armor first? Rathalos armor is good too, but a bit far off for me. Maybe Tigrex, since I don't really like Tigrex weapons.

The screeching of the Giaprey draws my attention back to the present. Drawing out my Iron Hammer, I run towards the beasts. The first one turns... just as I unleash the whirling spin, slamming it away.

_HOME RUN! _I'm not about to scream it out, since there's the risk of dislodging icicles from the ceiling.

Just as the momentum starts to run out, I adjust my grip on the handle and slide my left foot around, setting up for a jump. This move would never exist in the actual game, but then again, this isn't a game. I push off and launch myself up into the air, bringing the heavy weapon around and over my head.

"IT'S HAMMER TIME!" I can't resist yelling. (1)

Then I bring it down onto the head of the one I hit before it can get up. SPLAT.

I quickly roll away before a freezing clump of snow hits me, coming to my feet and turning at the same time. There are two more Giaprey to deal with, and the one that didn't just attack is crouching for a leap.

Rolling again, I pull the hammer back for a quick whack to the legs, but it only stumbles slightly. _Damn, those are some muscles! And they're actually taller than me now that I'm up close in reality._

It turns, hopping to do so. The other one jumps, but I roll under it and charge for a ground slam. Before either of them can turn to face me, I swing the hammer up, catching one of them on the ribs with the upswing. Then I slam it hard down onto their combined heads.

One of them goes down, but the other staggers on its feet still. I dispatch it with another whack, finally bringing it down.

After that comes the carving, I get a pelt, a claw and a fang from their carcasses. The next area I head to is Area 3, where the eggs and stuff are. Sure enough, there are another two.

One of them is far away, while the other is close by. Before the nearer one can alert its compatriot, I bash the top of its head, once, twice, then I finish it off with a swing that a golfer would be proud of, sending it flying across the place. Yelling, I charge towards the remaining Giaprey, preparing to pound its brains out.

It dodges by jumping back.

_Damn, I got careless. _I quickly roll away before it can bite me, then perform another non-game attack.

I step into a spin around behind it, swinging the hammer around down low, and the heavy head takes it perfectly across the ankles. The Giaprey is swept off its feet and crashes to the icy ground with a choked screech. Before it can get up, I'm already in position, hammer drawn back behind me, staring into its yellow reptilian eyes.

"Eat hammer!" The head gets smashed.

The armlet beeps, signaling acknowledgement of my mission completion, telling me I only have a while before they come to pick me up. Mission cleared, with zero damage!

_I'm not going to get any fangs out of this one. _I muse as I put away the hammer and draw out my carving knife. _Wait, how do they know that I finished the mission anyway? Oh my god, I'm being stalked! Geez, I bet the Guild people are full of voyeurs!_

Uncomfortable thoughts aside, I quickly work on grabbing whatever resources I can after I'm finished carving. Mushroom, bones, anything that looks possible to scavenge, I grab. It's only after the Guild people comes for me in their hot air balloon that I realize I might have inadvertently handled frozen wyvern poop.

Ew. Even if I need dung for fertilizer, that's just... ew.

Anyway, a quick check with Akyuu tells me that the Blango slaying quest is at night, so I have some time to kill before then. After washing up in my house, I head over to the entrance to the farm. Sure enough, there's a man standing near the lifts, apparently waiting for me.

And I'm right.

"Ahh... Hello, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship, which is why I'd like to ask you for a favor."

_Dude, that sounds creepy. Like molesting pervert creepy. _I fake a grin and nod. "What is it?"

"I forgot to introduce myself last time." The guy smiles back. "I'm Treshi's disciple. You know who Treshi is, right?"

_Ummm... not really sure..._

"If not, you should go meet him in the Gathering Hall." He points towards the place.

_Oh wait, I remember now! He's the midget I go see for the treasure hunting quests!_

"The favor that I want to ask actually comes from Treshi. You see, he has a farm, but no one to maintain it. We were hoping you'd be up for the job."

Given the BENEFITS (That's right, capitalized for importance!) of the farm and not actually having to do much of the physical upkeep, I'd be a total idiot not to go along with it.

"It's conveniently called Pokke Farm. Everything you need to start off, along with some Usagi and Felyne labor, has already been provided."

See?

"Everything you farm, be it ore, fish, etc... is yours to use as you please. If you need to know how to reap the land, ask whoever in charge of the spot."

SEE?

I tune the rest of the explanation out. I know I'm supposed to get Pokke Points by helping Treshi out, by gathering stuff to trade in, and use those Points for buying upgrades on the farm. Not sure how to get those Points outside of gathering Account items and Treasure Hunting Quests though. And the guy doesn't tell me about those alternate methods, only saying he will deliver another issue of Hunting Life to my house and wishing me luck.

Unexpectedly, Usagi Tewi turns up, and this time she has brought Usagi Comrades! I didn't play Freedom Unite, so this is a kind of new experience for me. Who knew that they would also live in the Kitchen with the Chefs? But being able to have up to ten of them is pretty good, I have to say. Wonder what Usagi-types are capable of? I still have yet to see the cats and dolls Yukari told me about.

Anyway, looking over the five documents she hands to me, I can see it's a bit complicated. There's level, which I don't really need to care about since they'll progress eventually. Attack and defense are important stats, but I'll look at them later. Fondness... well, let's skip that for now, shall we? Coloration's a bit obvious, but the thing that is the most troublesome is Temperament, which I have no idea about, but can tell is important to their actions in the field. Striking versus impacts... well, that's another obvious one.

The five are Sia, Nerin, Maple, Prim, and Asa, with temperaments Weapon Lover, Bomb Lover, Average, Peace Loving and Scrapper respectively. In the end, I pick Nerin as my choice, spending 500z for her.

"Thanks for the business!" Usagi Tewi waves after me as I return to check out the Comrade Board in my Kitchen.

_Hmm... I'm supposed to set a training schedule for what part of the body to train in and let them learn skills. Are bombs even affected by the attack stat? Meh, let's just put her to training her defense then. _I mark it on the board. _She doesn't have enough points, so never mind that for now since she's not a direct attacker._

I activate her as my Comrade, dressing her up in Mofumofu. I'm still quite blur on this, but it makes one thing clear; the next time I see Yukari, I'm going to hit her up for as much information about the game as I can. I don't want to be unprepared for whatever may come, especially regarding the armor issue.

The next part is to head down to the farm. I take the wooden cable car down to the base of the mountain. It's a rather smooth ride, as long as I stay still in the cramped box. The farm itself is a bit ramshackle, but that's natural given the humble beginnings. I stand beneath the sign over the entrance, looking the place over thoughtfully for a few seconds.

_Let's grab all that I can! _With a wide grin on my face, I run right in to get to work..

_Mine some whetstones! __**Like a boss!**__ Plant some seeds! __**Like a boss!**__ Try fishing! __**Like a boss!**__ Lose my bait! __**Like a boss!**__ Try again! __**Like a boss!**__ Catch Sushifish! __**Like a boss!**__ Go catch bugs! __**Like a boss!**__ Need more upgrades! __**Like a boss!**__ Nothing left! __**Like a boss! **_(2)

_That was a bit on the meager side... but at least I got something. _Laden with my spoils of war, I head back up the mountain. _That song's kind of catchy... although it seems a bit dumb now that I'm done._

After I'm done depositing the stuff in my item box, I go for the Blango slaying quest. Just before I leave, I realize that I'm still holding the Hammer, so I run back and change it for the Bone, a Long Sword.

And I head off just as the sun begins to set. Seeing the Popos there, I draw my odd-looking weapon and charge at them.

Then I remember why I didn't start off with a Long Sword. Because the damn thing is just too fragile. Just taking down the Popos without my Ki to enhance it (I forgot about that because I didn't put it on the hammer either) results in several nicks in the edge that I have to polish out with the whetstones I was supplied with.

_Better go see Rinnosuke about upgrading this piece of crap. _Grumbling, I sheathe the weapon and start climbing up the ledges to enter the ice caves. _Got two Popo tongues, that should net me some Pokke Points if I recall correctly._

I continue to make my way through the Areas gathering as I go, imagining the time when I will eventually reach a point where I will be hard pressed to decide what I should continue to carry.

"Honey~ and Ice Crystals, Stone and Iron~ Ore. Mountain Herbs and Giaprey Fangs galore~ Monster hunting involves many things~ In the snowy mountains you can get all sorts of things~" I sing to myself as I slash the final Giaprey across the face. (3)

Outside in Area 6, I encounter three Blangos. _Oh yay, the annoying monkeys. Time to hack and slash._

Seriously, it's too easy fighting against small fries like this given my experience, both in playing Monster Hunter and training in Gensokyo. They can try to attack, but I know how to read their body muscles to tell where they intend to go, and keep track of them even if they're behind me.

It's kind of amusing to jab them in the face with the bulging tip of my weapon just as they open their mouth, though. Carving them results in some Sharp Fangs and Blango Pelts. The latter gives me the idea to get some Blagonga armor. If I recall, it's pretty useful, and the helmet looks cool.

Dipping my hands into the snow to wipe off some of the blood, I make my way up to Area 8, where the last bunch of Blangos are. However, instead of confronting them, I search around the rock wall. The hole I'm looking for is on the west-facing side, and I crawl right through. I get a few more Mountain Herbs, before making the climb all the way to the top, trying not to slip off the icy wall.

_There... the Kushala Daora skin. Time to get mining! _I heft the pickaxe and start hacking at the crack. Then...

"AHHH! OW! SHIT! STOP BITING YOU DAMN WORM!"

There was a Khezu whelp in there, and now it's latched onto me. I quickly continue my mining, getting some Machalite Ore in the process. Once I'm done, I gulp down one of the First-Aid Medicines to replenish my health, before jumping down into the wide area.

The Blangos notice, but I ignore them to scour through a loose patch of rocks on the east side. By luck, I find a scale, but it's decayed slightly. _I think this is an Account Item... let's keep it. _

Now, all that's left is to slay me some Blangos! And a sudden boom alerts me to Nerin's presence; she managed to hit two of them with a bomb.

My frustration from the Khezu whelp makes me a little brutal; I slash horizontally across their eyes, then stab them in the throat when they rear back in pain. Once their lifeblood is pouring from the deep gash I made, I move on to the next one, and the next, until all of them have bled out. It at least allows me to carve some pretty good stuff from them. I should be able to score an upgrade with what I got.

It's not really needed, but I down another First Aid Med while waiting to be picked up. _Stupid whelp... what do the Guild do with them anyway? Rear them to adulthood so hunters never run low on beasts to hunt?_

That's a question that will remain with me for a while.

My hunch about the scale was right, and I net myself quite a bunch of Pokke Points. With it, I can get the Mushroom Tree, and then I can gather Blue Mushrooms and start making Potions. You can never have enough Potions...

Anyway, by the time I get back, it's late at night, so I take a quick bath and turn in to sleep. It is the end of my second day here. Wonder what do I have to hunt tomorrow? I need to see Yukari too...

* * *

><p>(1) A reference to MC Hammer's U Can't Touch This.<p>

(2) Reference to a meme based on The Lonely Island's album INCREDIBAD, from a song of the same name.

(3) To the tune of 'My favorite things' from The Sound of Music. Ikuto is just trying to cope with monster hunting.

So that's another chapter of Yukari's Errands down. Nothing much to say... I feel like doing a timeskip so we can get to the REAL bosses...


	9. MHF2: New and Familiar Things

"Eat hammer, Drome!" I snarl.

The heavy bit of iron smashes into the side of the beaked head just as it lunges to take a bite out of me, and the Giadrome staggers slightly before turning back for another try.

Only to receive the backswing on the other side of the head. After bashing my way through so many of the Giapreys, I've gotten a feel for their responses to my attacks. It's a thing the normal gaming experience won't provide.

My attention is drawn by one of the Giapreys attempting to flank me. However, its tiny brain doesn't account for the fact that it is doing it on the side my hammer is facing. I shift my right foot out, and jab with the head of the hammer. It won't really do much damage, but it will blunt that beak of it.

Meanwhile, the Giadrome is shaking its head, trying to clear the cobwebs my strikes left it. Pulling the hammer all the way back around my side, I unleash a powerful spinning strike that sends it flying into the air, to crash down into the snow.

After turning my attention to and dispatching the remaining Giaprey, I look around for the Giadrome, only to see it fleeing the area. _I guess that means it's weak enough to catch... wonder if I should try Knocking on it? _(1) _I've got the tools for it anyhow._

Although this was originally a slaying quest, the supply chest provided me with a Shock Trap and some Tranquilizers for the purpose of capturing the beast. I finish carving the Giaprey and head after the Drome, intent on ending things. Feeling the cold starting to bite at my bones, I gulp down another Hot Drink, my last. At least it lightens my pouch a little.

_Another two Giaprey to deal with... _I rush straight in, shortening the distance as fast as I can before they can turn. _Uppercut! _

I draw and attack in the same motion, and the left Giaprey goes airborne. I swing back and start powering up my weapon with Ki, then slam it down right in front of me. The shockwave tosses away the other Giaprey, leaving me facing the Drome.

It hisses angrily. Maybe it can sense its impending fate.

But that doesn't matter to me. I'm just a hunter right now.

"Bitch slap!" I pop it in the head with a weak strike from my hammer. "Dodge roll!" (2) _Calling out the name of your move makes it more effective! _I think crazily to myself.

Putting up my hammer, I rummage through the pouch for that odd sphere I received at the beginning of this quest. Pulling it out, I roll aside again, narrowly avoiding snapping fangs, and run away to get some distance. Once I've reached about ten meters away, I quickly crouch down and push aside some of the snow, creating a small hole in which I place the sphere. A few flicks of switches, and an energy web arcs outwards over the ground, not affecting me.

"Come on! Come get me!" I yell at the Giadrome, beckoning with one hand while I search through my pouch again with the other. "Come on!" _Found it._ I pull out two small red balls, holding them between my fingers.

It screeches at me, then crouches down. I quickly roll aside, avoiding its leap. It lands smack in the center of the energy web, and unlike me, it's affected. I can see the muscles tensing up and locking in position, and it makes an awful cry through resisting vocal chords. Not wanting to hear it so much, I quickly fling the Tranquilizers.

They burst into white smoke on hitting the Giadrome's hide, somehow managing to penetrate the tough layer. Within moments, the beast starts to relax, then slumps down to the ground in a deep sleep. The armband beeps to signify the completion of the quest.

Mission accomplished.

I turn around. _Or not. Still got some pesky Giapreys to deal with._

I draw my hammer, and prime myself for some heavy smackdown. "LEEEEEROOOOY JENKINS!" (3) I roar.

Unfortunately, while screaming that is a good way to get up the mood to go on the offensive, it doesn't get me a bonus in terms of spoils. No achievements either. That sucks. But it's not too bad either, I have to say.

* * *

><p><strong>Part 3: New Encounters<strong>

I plod into my house after Nerin, who goes straight for the kitchen, and begin the process of dumping my received spoils in the equipment box. _I should start looking into getting better armor. Mafumofu is warm, but I can use Hot Drinks for that anyway. Just because I dodged every single attack that's been thrown at me so far, doesn't mean I should just run through everything with Rank-1 armor. _Sighing, I turn around.

Yukari's standing there, appearing suddenly and silently out of nowhere like she usually does. If I wasn't already used to it, I would have started in shock.

"Good afternoon." She remarks cheerfully.

"Yo." I grunt in reply. "So how's things back in Gensokyo?"

"Rumia's fine, by the way." Yukari says in a casual tone.

_I didn't ask about the person who got me into this place. _

"And you're still training in the mansion."

"Time travel. Gotta love it, huh?" I add sarcastically. "Anyway," I go on, "I need some info if I'm gonna progress here."

"Like?" She gives me a questioning look. I can never tell if she knows things beforehand, because she's a damn good actor.

"Weapon tree list and the materials needed, maps of gathering spots, combining recipe booklet, lists of armor pieces and their levels, Kitchen ingredient choices, etc..." I rattle off, despite knowing that some of the things can be made without her help.

Yukari gives me a look that is tinged with disappointment. "Cheater."

"Heck if I care." I retort. "I rather know what to aim for than to flounder around."

She lifts one eyebrow. "If that is your decision. I won't be getting you all of those, you know."

"I'll take what I can get. But I really want the weapon list."

She nods. "Alright. I'll get them for you, so why don't you do some more quests first?"

I head out of the place. "Got it. See ya later then."

I spend my accumulated Pokke Points getting Trenya and the Mushroom gathering spot, and proceed to gather everything I can. If I recall correctly, early in the game, it's better to just hoard, hoard, hoard. There isn't really a need for more money at this stage.

When I talk to Rinnosuke and Tokiko, they inform me that the variety of their selection has gone up, and Rinnosuke gifts me with an Armor Sphere, which is used to improve my armor. Looking through the things Rinnosuke is offering, I'm slightly attracted to the Bone and Battle lines of armor, both of which I'm lacking material, as well as the Blango Tasset. On the other hand, I managed to get the Iron Katana, as well as upgrade the Bone version of it. I don't make any further improvements until I get what I need from Yukari. I know I want certain Hammers and Dual Blades, but a Long Sword is one of the things I'm most comfortable with.

Rinnosuke hands me back my same-looking, but definitely harder Long Sword, which I check over just to be safe. _I'll need Medium Monster Bones and Velociprey stuff for the next upgrade. _

Guess that means I'll have to go on more quests.

"Hey! Ikuto! Over here!" Shizuha beckons to me over from the next store.

Raising an eyebrow, I venture over to see what she wants.

"One of our supply routes just opened up. We've got new stuff you might like." She informs me.

Minoriko takes over. "Look at this one! This is the Organizer Guide we've just got in! It'll help you sort through your Item Box better, making more space!"

"Or how about the Book of Combos 3?" Shizuha speaks again. "It's our pick for hunters who'd like to combine during a Quest. We've also got Bowgun shells and lots of other items!"

"So," They chorus, "What would you like?"

Unfortunately, I don't have enough money for the Book of Combos, nor the Organizer Guide, since I just spent my money on upgrading my weapons.

"Sorry, girls. Maybe next time." I apologize. "I'm going to get myself a Quest, so just wait, okay?"

"Sure." Shizuha waves as I walk away.

Akyuu notices me approaching and tugs down the scarf over her face, smiling widely.

"Oh thank you! Seems like you took care of the Giadrome without any problems!" She touches her chin pensively with one finger. "If you're that strong, maybe I should give you other Quests. We've got some that are in the Jungle and Desert areas!"

I briefly recall my experiences with both in the game. I can pretty much recall the Jungle map, although it is different from the one in MHF. On the other hand, the Desert is different as well, but I don't recall that one as clearly. It's ironic when Akyuu describes the Jungle as the one that is easier to get lost in. But I appreciate her warnings about the conditions in both areas, and the fact that she's arranging for another book to be left for me in the house.

"So, what level of Quest would you like?" Akyuu inquires, tugging up her scarf as she shivers from the cold.

Now that I've unlocked the Level 2 quests, I've got a larger choice of areas to go to. There are some gathering ones, of course, but I'm not really that interested in them. It's the slaying ones that are always more interesting. I can try my hand at slicing up a Bulldrome, or twenty Giaprey, or...

_Velocidrome or Yian Kut-ku in Jungle... I'd go for the Kut-ku, if I didn't think I needed a bit more experience. _Back when I was first playing MHF, it was a struggle going up against a Kut-ku or a Rathalos for the very first time. _Mostly because I was playing stupidly at first, I bet. Still, let's just play it safe..._

"I'll have the Velocidrome one, please."

"How polite of you." Akyuu smiles, and hands over the document. "Stay safe, okay?"

"Sure, thanks."

I head back to the house to get my quick meal and swap my weapon out for the Hammer again, having switched over to the Long Sword so I could get it upgraded. Yes, I could bring my upgraded weapon along, since it'll do more damage and naturally attacks faster, but... there's just something... something remarkably therapeutic... about smashing a screeching reptile in the face with a heavy blunt object.

_I think I'm still feeling pissed at Yukari for dumping me here._

"Off to the Jungle, I see." The balloon operator remarks as I climb onboard. "First time?"

"Yeah. How's it like there?" I ask, despite knowing how it looks like from the game. But then again, this is reality for me.

"Oh, it's amazing, believe me." The man grins. "Ever see a waterfall?"

"Heard about it." My reply is short, as I don't want to give away the fact that I have seen one... in Gensokyo.

"There's this huge waterfall there, it's a sight to see. Trust me, you'll be in awe." He assures me. "As for the rest of the place, you'll have to do quite a bit of climbing if you go through the center, but there's a route along the beach."

_Just as I recalled. Okay. _I look out over the scenery as the balloon lifts off. _Wonder how far it is...?_

After about ten minutes, I realize we're descending. "Are we there already?"

The man chuckles. "Hardly. You'll be taking a boat from here."

I look over the edge. We're landing at a small outpost, too small to be called a port. There are people working on the ships berthed there, and some of them are hunters. Judging by the bright colors of their hair, I think they're supposed to be the counterparts of the fairies and youkais in Gensokyo.

The balloon lands with a jarring thump, and I get out.

"Good luck on your mission. I'll be here to pick you up when you return." The man sees me off with those words.

I head over to the counter where a Guild maiden is working, joining the long queue behind a female hunter with long purple hair. _Wait... Is this Reisen? _"This the line to get the right boat?" I ask casually.

The hunter turns, confirming my suspicions. Beneath that helmet are gemlike eyes of red, set in a familiar face. "Yes. You just hand your quest papers to the woman there, and she'll give you the ticket to the right boat."

"Thanks for the info. You must be a regular here, I take it?"

Reisen smiles. "I'm not that good. My master is the one who's the expert hunter."

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Ikuto. Just Ikuto." I extend my hand out.

She grips it in a firm handshake. "Reisen. Reisen Inaba. First time here?"

"Yeah. I see you use a Bowgun. Light?"

Reisen nods. "My master uses a Bow, but I can't get the accuracy she has. Bowguns are more my style. What about you, a Hammer?"

"I switch between Hammers, Long Swords, and Dual Blades, depending on the beast." I pat the handle of my weapon. "This baby's for the lightweights."

She looks at it. "I can see why. Oh, looks like it's my turn."

She goes up to the counter and hands over the necessary documents. After a few minutes, the woman hands them back with a numbered tag with instructions as to which boat to report to. Reisen moves off, then stops and turns.

"Let's exchange guild cards, shall we?"

I smile. "Sure. Just hold on a second." I go up to the counter and pass the woman my quest papers. "Hunting a Velocidrome, Jungle."

She checks them over quickly, showing her long experience at this job. "Okay, your papers are in order..." Swiftly, she stamps them and passes them back with a tag with the number eight embossed on it. "Berth number eight, head all the way to the right, third from the end."

"Thanks." I turn to join Reisen. "So where are you headed?" I ask, tucking the papers away into my pouch.

"The other way. I'm going to berth two." She holds out a small piece of paper. "Here's my guild card."

I take it and look it over. _She's not that much further ahead of me. _"Nice. Hold on, I'll pass you mine."

Guild cards is something every hunter has, mainly printed out by the piece of machinery we all wear on the arm. I tap the commands in, and it spits out mine almost instantly. Reisen takes it from my hand and looks it over, before putting it away into a chest pocket.

"Well, good luck on your quest." I raise a hand in a half-wave.

Reisen nods. "Same to you. Maybe in future we might go on a hunt together."

"Sure, hope to see you again."

We part, and I go over to my indicated berth, where the sailor checks my papers and tag, before nodding to me to get on. I don't know what sort of boat this is, but it's like two canoes joined together at the middle, which is sheltered from the weather. I climb in and sit, and the sailors push off.

The trip is rather fast. The design of my ride is clearly meant to help it cut through the waves as quickly as possible, and very soon I can see an island approaching. My eyes widen when I see the gigantic waterfalls. It's like some kind of geyser sprouting out the top of a mountain, and the voluminous amount of water cascades down into the sea, casting a heavy cloud of mist around the edges.

"Quite a sight, ain't it?" The sailor chuckles. "I never get tired of seeing it."

I nod in agreement. "Yeah, it's amazing." _Why doesn't Gensokyo have stuff like this... _

We maneuver into a small bay, just outside the mist cloud, though I can feel the spray against my face at this distance. Then we go aground on a sandy beach, in a stop that's smoother than expected.

"Well, we're here. We'll be leaving in fifty minutes at the most, unless you finish your hunt quick."

"Got it. I'll be gathering some stuff as well."

The sailor chuckles. "You do that. Hunting's a tough job, having to gather so many things. Not my kinda thing. The chest's been stocked up already, so go on."

I jump down onto the sand, and head over to the supply chest to grab the stuff. Based on the game, the Velocidrome should appear in some area, and be introduced in some kind of cinematic display. But then again, that's the game. I'm just gonna gather what I can, mine what I can, and beat up any beasts that get in my way.

_Now let's see... what route should I take...? _I consult the map. _Okay, let's go around the beach first, then through the caves, and finally the plant area to the east._

With my course plotted, I set off. Almost immediately, I run into two Velocipreys, and summarily dispatch them. There's a few herbs and a mining point that I strip dry before continuing on. In the next area, I run into my first Hermitaur. Pounding it down makes quite a bit of noise, as there's quite a lot of crunchy bits to crunch. Still, I manage to extract a piece of the shell in relatively good condition. There's a shrub where some bugs are lurking, but I forgot to bring my net, so I ignore it in favor of the mining point near the exit to the eastern area.

The tiny island across the sandbank has a mushroom spot, and I gather some good stuff that I can turn in for Pokke Points, as well as a few more Hermitaur materials. But other than that, there's not much else, so I return to the mainland very quickly.

The Velocidrome appears in Area 8, accompanied by a few Vespoids. Jumping down from the ledge, I charge straight at it with my Hammer ready to strike. Just as I unleash the powerful blow, a Vespoid descends down into the path of my swing, and explodes into pieces beneath the impact.

With the reduced force, the strike ends up doing less damage than I expected, and I'm forced to roll away quickly to avoid a nasty bite. A soft buzz alerts me to the presence of the other Vespoid, and I quickly spin into a backswing that swats the pesky bug out of the air before it can sting me.

The Drome takes that moment to pounce, and I roll again. However, it happens too late; I receive a large gash on my back. It's not bad enough to warrant immediate treatment, but the pain is warning enough to take further care.

I turn to face my opponent, faster than it can, and start swinging heavy vertical strikes. The first makes it stagger slightly, the second glances off its shoulder when it turns, but the third and final upswing catches it right in the neck, eliciting a funny gagging sound from its mouth. But it doesn't deter it enough; I duck my head and parry its snapping jaws with the handle of my weapon, then leap aside to distance myself.

_This guy's smaller than that Giadrome, but it's got more experience, it seems. _I think, running around it as it tries to take bites out of me. _Let's try a bit of hit and run._

I dash in and out, using my running momentum to smash my Hammer into its body, combined with damaging Ki. Head, flanks, shoulders, knees, there's not much arm strength behind these blows I'm dealing out, but slowly, I'm sapping its vitality. After a particularly effective strike at where its sternum is, the Velocidrome lets out a weak screech and tries to flee.

"Oh no you don't..." I growl, channeling Ki into my feet and blasting after it.

I don't use my Ki that much because its rather tiring with the weight of the weapon, so I conserve it for situations like this. Also, moves like this won't work in the Snowy Mountains because the soft snow absorbs the force of my steps. I blur straight into its escape route and execute my specially invented combo. A downwards-diagonal backswing knocks its head down slightly, but even as it tries to bring it up again, I bring the Hammer around in a figure-eight, and deal a much heavier blow to the same body part.

Then I step to the side and pivot around, bringing the weapon around and up, and slam it heavily down on top of its head, ending its life.

_Woo... that was a bit tougher than I expected. Anyway, time to get to carving! _I put away my Hammer and draw my trusty carving knife.

Five minutes later, I'm on the boat back to the outpost, with a few Velocidrome Scales and a Claw in my inventory, and the carcass wrapped in canvas next to me. After that, it's just a matter of getting my papers signed at a different counter to mark the quest's completion, and I'm on the balloon back to Pokke Village.

_Hope Yukari has the stuff I asked for. _I yawn, seeing my breath mist in the chiller air of the mountains. _I'll upgrade my equipment, and soon I'll be hunting a Kut-ku next!_

* * *

><p>(1) Reference to Toriko. Knocking is the skill where captured beasts are paralyzed by the injection of needles into certain muscles, allowing them to be safely transported or harvested for their flesh.<p>

(2) A crucial move in Kingdom Hearts, it has saved the lives of many players.

(3) A meme that has its roots in World of Warcraft. Leeroy Jenkins was the name of a character who stupidly rushed into a battle without care for the plan his teammates had, resulting in the complete wipeout of the entire party. At least he still had chicken.

So that's my introduction to the Jungle area! I went back to watch videos of the place, and the first thing I noticed was the boat in the base camp. I know that in most cases, the hunter reaches the area by the way of the balloon, but I'm trying to make this as realistic as possible.

Anyway, it's hard to continue writing with school and assignments sapping my time and inspiration, but I'll do my best!


	10. MHF2: Further Progression

Yukari came through. In my hand I hold a sheet of paper detailing the weapon trees of the various weapons that are used to hunt the monsters of this land. So far I've managed to upgrade most of my weapons to the limits of what few beasts I managed to slay within the locations of the Snowy Mountains and the Jungle, and today will be my final hunt in the jungle before I attempt the harsh conditions of the Desert. My prey is a beast I have met many times before already, and today should be no different.

A Yian Kut-ku.

I go through a few of the katas Hong Meiling taught me, refreshing their movements in my memory, for the time I return to Gensokyo. So far I haven't had the need to use any of the really special skills I've picked up there, but once in a while I practice them so as to keep them polished. Then again, hitting something with a Ki-charged Hammer is rather impressive to see.

I've made enough money to buy just about everything I've needed, such as the Combo Books and Potions; I don't really get hurt much, but given the hostile environment, it's best to be on the safe side.

After eating a quick meal cooked by my Usagis, I check with Akyuu to make sure that no one has taken the quest before accepting it from her and heading off to the Jungle. I left Nerin behind this time.

_Mushroom Tree and Trenya are doing well. Completed nearly all of the other quests except for those in the Desert so far... doing well, I'm like a prodigy, they say... _I write in my journal, recording my adventure in this world. _Starting to miss Gensokyo a lot more now..._

"We're here!" The balloonist informs me.

I nod to him and close my journal. "Thanks."

Just as I get into line for the boats, I feel a tap on my shoulder. Turning around, I see Reisen smiling at me. It reminds me of my own Reisen... damn, I miss her, but they aren't the same person, even if they look alike.

"What a coincidence, Ikuto! What are you hunting today?"

I flash my quest papers. "Another Yian Kut-ku. You?"

She shows me hers. "A Congalala. My first."

"Ah, be careful not to get hit by its poo, then."

"Wait, its _POO_?" She sounds revolted. I don't blame her.

"Nobody told you yet? One of the Congalala's attacks is to fling its own dung at its enemy."

"Ewwww... I wouldn't want to get hit by that. Not at all."

_Yeah... this Reisen is different. Mine was a lot more timid... mainly because Eirin keeps drugging her while Tewi pranks her on a daily basis._ I move up with the queue, and hand my papers to the maiden manning the counter. _Berth Seven, huh?_

"So where are you headed?" Reisen asks, after getting her own tag.

"Seven."

"Huh? Mine's Seven too." She holds up her tag to let me see.

"That's odd..." I glance in the direction we're supposed to go. "Let's go check at the berth."

The man there looks through our papers before handing them back to us and informing both of us that somehow our respective preys are in the same area. It's a rare occurrence, but it does happen sometimes. In such cases, it becomes an unofficial group hunt. She can help me on mine, I can help her on hers, but if either one drops first, the hunter in charge of that beast will get retrieved.

I glance at Reisen out of the corner of my eye. "Work together?"

She shrugs and hops into the boat. "Sure. Let's go."

We talk more on our way to the place. Similar to my Reisen, she's often sent by her Eirin to gather materials for some kind of research the woman is carrying out. When I ask how they met, apparently Reisen was picked up one day when she ran away from her previous home. Eirin discovered her good eyesight and hand-eye coordination, and proceeded to train Reisen in ranged weaponry. However, Reisen lacked the strength to properly wield a Bow, so she picked up the Light Bowgun instead.

In return, I tell her my own 'history' here. I trained with a sword master (Youmu), and improved my physical abilities by training with a martial arts mistress (Meiling), until my handler (Yukari) sent me out to test my skills. Reisen is slightly jealous when she sees how much I've progressed since the last time we've seen each other, but I point out that I've only been working on improving my equipment, not taking on harder monsters.

When we reach the base camp, we gather our supply items and look at each other.

"Go together? Or move alone?" I ask.

"Alone would be better. We both aren't used to group hunting yet." Reisen taps her arm gear. "Signal me if you spot either one, okay?"

I give her a thumbs up. "Got it. I'll go this way." I point to the east.

"And I'll go that way." Reisen points to the west, towards the beach.

"Let's hunt!"

* * *

><p><strong>Part 4: Preys and Partners<strong>

I run through the brush, keeping my senses alert for any dangers. Nothing's up in the air, but I don't let my guard down. The smell of the forest fills my nose; chlorophyll and dirt. My ears pick up a buzzing over the rustling of the leaves; Vespoids in the area. Soft grass crunching... the cause is light in weight, probably Keibis. I peek around a particularly tall plant, and confirm my guess.

_I'll pass on these today. _Standing up, I run past them, heading for the route to the next area. _If I'm right..._

The moment I enter the next area, I quickly duck behind a bush. My suspicions are spot-on; the Yian Kut-ku is in this area.

A pelican-like beak, two long ears that will open up to show its aggressive nature, a shiny red carapace that covers its entire body from head to tail, and two wings with leathery webbing. That is how a Yian Kut-ku looks like.

_Hasn't spotted me yet... _I ready the Paintball in my pouch, and confirm the position of the Sonic Bomb. _Come on, come a little closer... _

The grass crunches beneath its feet as it steps closer towards my location, then it stops and looks around. The moment its head turns away, I make my move.

_NOW! _I dash out from my hiding spot and fling the tiny ball in my hand, just as it turns back. _Yes, got it in the eye!_ My arm gear beeps, registering its marking on my radar. Moments later, it beeps again, as Reisen signals me back. _Looks like she's coming here._

The wyvern tosses its head, screeching in discomfort as it hops up and down. I quickly pull my Hammer out from its holster, and start hitting its legs. The jumping makes it hard for my strikes to properly deal any damage, but that doesn't mean my strikes are useless. One particularly heavy hit makes it stagger, dipping slightly towards the side I'm attacking.

I can tell when it has managed to blink the paint out of its eye, when it suddenly flares its wings, cawing angrily. Then something impacts the side of its head, causing it to reel.

"Need a little help?" Reisen calls, at the far end of the area, right in front of the path to the area she came from.

"Not really! But I don't mind!" I call back. "Shoot again! At its head!"

I pull my weapon back, readying it for a heavy attack, and run around to the opposite side Reisen is on. Then I unleash my whirlwind swing on its legs, and again and again. Each blows makes the target foot scrape slightly across the earth, affecting its balance. At the same time, Reisen fires shot after shot, hitting the Yian Kut-ku in the head without fail. I catch sight of her reloading, and pause slightly.

_I think I got the timing... she's pulling it, cocking the Bowgun... NOW! _I swing, putting my body into it.

My Hammer lands the same time her bullet hits, and the opposing motion pushes it over the tipping point; I curse and roll out of the way just as the Kut-ku crashes to the ground, raising a cloud of dust. Moving around to where its head is, I lift my Hammer up and slam it home on its head. Behind me, I can hear Reisen running up, probably to fire some point-blank shots as well.

It caws. I swing. It caws. I swing. It caws. I swing. _This seems a bit cruel..._

"Pellet shot, coming right up!"

"Need to move?" I call as I pound the head again.

"Nope!" Reisen replies cheerfully. "Just keep swinging that big stick of yours!"

"It's not a stick! It's a Hammer!" I protest.

"Just shut up and swing!"

"You shut up and shoot!"

The bullets pelt its body, and the note of pain in the Kut-ku's screeches increases. It's also starting to recover; the legs aren't shaking so much anymore, and the claws are getting more purchase. I hit it underneath the chin for a stunning blow, then back off.

Suddenly, my eyes widen, and I spin around to look at Reisen. She hasn't noticed!

I dash straight for her, and she jerks in surprise, wondering why I'm running towards her. "Wha-"

"Look out!" I tackle her, pushing her small body with mine.

"Ungh!" Reisen grunts when I hit her, and our bodies go flying to crash onto the ground painfully. "What the hell is wrong with you!?"

Her reply comes in the form of a loud boom, in the location she was standing in. I grimace and roll off her, checking that I still have my weapon close to me. _This might be bad..._

The Congalala has dropped in. And if I hadn't noticed, Reisen might be paste by now.

"Th-thanks..." Reisen says shakily, realizing the same thing.

"No time for that now." I mutter grimly, flicking a Paintball at the Congalala to mark it as well. "Run? Or you want to try taking on two at once?"

Reisen stares nervously at the two beasts. "I don't know..."

I notice the Yian Kut-ku hopping in fury, screeching angrily. _Damn, it's enraged now. Sonic Bombs won't work. _

The Congalala... at first glance, it's like a gorilla, except with pink fur. However, there are a few definite differences apart from that. First, it has a long prehensile tail, which in this case is holding a blue mushroom. Second is that tuft of green hair on top of its head, shaped into the form of a small pointed horn. Lastly... it has sharp-looking claws instead of fingers. And it stinks pretty bad as well.

It growls at us, just as the Kut-ku does the same, clawing the earth with one foot.

"Get ready, Reisen." I warn the girl next to me.

"You're crazy! There's no way you can take on both at the same time!" She protests.

"You just have to know what their patterns. Keep an eye out for the Congalala, that's the more troublesome one. SPLIT!" I suddenly yell out, dashing off to the side.

Both of the monsters suddenly started charging, but they're interfering with each other, giving us the chance to avoid the attack. The Yian Kut-ku crashes to the ground at the end, but the Congalala manages to retain enough control to remain on its feet. I seize the opportunity to dash in and lay a few good hits on the Kut-ku before it manages to get up again.

The Congalala moves to attack, but coincidentally, the Kut-ku attempts a tail whip, which catches the ape across the faces. Howling in pain, it clutches its face.

"What are you doing?" I snap at a frozen Reisen. "Shoot them! Shoot!"

"Ah, ye-yes!" She quickly switches out her shot for a different type and levels the Bowgun at the beasts.

_First, target the tail... _I run around the side of the Congalala, and smack the tail. Something strikes it in the face, and explodes. _Crag Shot. Good. Saves me some trouble breaking the horn later._

The Kut-ku launches a fireball at Reisen, but she rolls out of the way and returns a shot of her own.

The pink gorilla turns around to swipe at me, but I dodge backwards, then run in to slam its face. Unexpectedly, it jumps up, trying to crush me under it. I dash towards it, passing safely underneath it while it crashes to the ground behind me. Taking advantage of the Kut-ku's focus on Reisen, I perform the ground-breaking strike at its feet, making it stagger.

It turns around quickly, and my instincts scream a warning. It suddenly bursts into a frenzied charge, and although I try to dodge, its left wing clips my shoulder, knocking me down onto my butt.

"Ikuto!" Reisen shouts, worried.

"I'm fine!" I yell back at her. "Focus on them!"

A bestial scream makes me turn around. The impact of the Kut-ku proved to be the push needed for the Congalala to let go of its treasure, and it looks pretty angry; its face has turned a bruise-like red, and it's snorting visible smoke.

_It's turning to look, and its tail- Oh shit, RUN! _"POO ATTACK!" I scream, and dive to the side.

The stink that hits my nose with the pulse of air makes my face screw up instinctively, and Reisen has her own look of revulsion. But I don't have any time to waste thinking about that, because the Congalala begins a series of swipes, and I quickly skip backwards to avoid the final overswing, which causes it to fall head over heels onto its back.

The position exposes a very unexpected weak point, which I go for without hesitation. Rather than a growl or a grunt, it lets out a particularly high pitched squeal when my blow lands. I think it might be a good idea to wash my weapon afterwards, though.

"Watch out for the Kut-ku!" Reisen calls.

_Oh shit! _I quickly turn my attention towards the wyvern, who is charging for me while spitting fire to its sides as it tosses its head around. _Left, right, left, distance calculated... dodge to the left!_

Unexpectedly, the Congalala's tail picks that moment to whip up as the beast rolls to its feet, and I trip over it. The resulting tumble deprives me of the opportunity for a free hit, and when I try my luck, the Congalala suddenly sits up and puffs up with air, hardening its belly to the level of a rock. My Hammer bounces off, and I stumble backwards. Moments later, its head explodes in a burst of fire as Reisen blasts it with another shot of Crag.

"I'm out of Crag!" She calls out.

I quickly spare one hand to flash a thumbs up, to show that I heard, and bring it back to grip my weapon for a horizontal swing at the Congalala's head. There's a small crack, and the horn shatters. It claws at its head, snorting in discomfort. Glancing at the Kut-ku, I realize it's no longer enraged.

_Now's my chance! _I run around the Congalala towards the Kut-ku, coincidentally avoiding another belly flop. _Eat Sonic Bomb!_

The small grey ball explodes in a metallic-sounding burst, causing the Kut-ku to screech and start shaking its head. The effect is apparently so great that it doesn't even realize I'm smacking its head. I notice after a few whacks that its ears have folded, showing that it's safe to capture it if I so choose. I hit it another two more times before going for the Congalala, who is trying to hit a dodging Reisen.

Since its attention is turned away from me, I charge up a powerful spinning strike, and begin flailing at its back. A small pinging on the side of my armor tells me that Reisen is using Pellet Shot, but in my current state, it doesn't do anything to affect me.

My final culminating strike takes out its left leg behind the heel, and it topples over backwards. I move around to the head and pound away on its face; it tries to block with its hands, but I just alternate a little to make it expose my real target, and that is it.

The next few minutes are harrowing, especially when the Kut-ku finally snaps out of its daze and gets angry again. I quickly toss out one of my Flash Bombs, aiming it carefully so both monsters are affected, and finally the Congalala falls to a headshot. The moment that happens, I throw down a Stun Trap, and proceed to carve the ape for its bounty. The Kut-ku awakens, and practically runs into the trap, allowing me to put it out with Tranquilizers.

I slump down onto the ground at the same time the wyvern does, exhaling explosively. Reisen staggers over and drops down next to me, leaning on my hammer.

"That was TOUGH!" She exclaims, quaffing a Potion.

"Two monsters are just that hard... It'll be good experience for the future." I tell her, drinking one of my own.

"Yeah..." Reisen sighs. "Thanks for all your help."

I chuckle. "You're welcome."

Returning to the outpost afterward seems peaceful by comparison, despite the rough waters we run into along the way. We shake hands before we part, silently agreeing to work together again in the future.

By the time I return back to Pokke, I'm so tired I almost fall asleep on the balloon, but once I hit the cold air, I feel slightly refreshed, and go about harvesting my farm. Organizing the rewards in my item chest is a bit troublesome, but I manage it fine. I take a quick bath, and turn in to bed.

* * *

><p>"Piscine Livers! They're quite a delicacy, you know." Akyuu informs me when I pick my next quest. "But it's a long trip to that place, so be sure to pack some food, you hear?"<p>

I nod. "Got it."

This time, I pick a Long Sword for my choice of weapon. I make sure to carry enough Sonic Bombs for this, even though there'll be some provided. You never know if some of those livers happen to come up after seven bad draws...

The balloonist fills me in on the Desert as we drift southwards over the forests.

"It's a place that keeps alternating between temperature extremes. During the day, you'll feel like you're being baked alive. During the night, it's almost as bad as being on the Snowy Mountains. I see you've brought Cold Drinks along. Smart thinking." He nods approvingly.

"Are you dropping me off directly?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "No. I only handle traveling between Pokke and outposts, so you're all the business I see. There's another outpost where you'll take a different balloon to the Desert Base Camp."

The trip goes on long into the afternoon, and by the time we reach the outpost, the sun is already on its way to setting. The place is rather big, and is set into the side of a mountain. I can count five different hangars and several waiting points, though none of the latter are in use at the moment. The place is much more packed compared to the Jungle outpost, I notice, and the balloonist explains it to me that some of the other villagers usually take too long to arrive, and so spend the night before attempting the quest the next day. It's an obvious fact that I belong in that group.

I show my papers to the staff, and receive a room key in exchange. According to them, food and lodging are free, and there's a gathering place for hunters like me to mingle around. The room itself isn't much to look at, just a bed and some racks to put my armor and weapons away on. It's a great load off my back to dump my stuff and head down to the bar for some food and drinks.

I spot another familiar face and venture over. "Mind if I sit here?" I ask.

The white-haired girl nods. I take my seat and order a meat dish. While waiting, I try to strike up a conversation with my table companion.

"It's my first time hunting in the Desert, got any tips?"

"Make sure to drink Cold Drinks, and keep your ears sharp." Her reply is short and curt.

"Thanks. Oh, by the way, my name's Ikuto. What's yours?"

"Youmu."

_My Youmu's more of a gardener and servant than a monster hunter... wonder what's the difference with this one? _"Is hunting for Piscine Livers hard?"

She snorts at that question. "Hard? No, no it's not. If anything, it's very easy. How do I know? Because I've been hunting them nearly every other day."

"Huh?"

"My mistress is a big fan of Piscine Livers." Youmu goes on, clearly complaining about her troubles. "She loves eating them, and always puts out a request for Piscine Livers, which I have no choice but to take. I've killed so many Cephalos I'm sure I could carve one up in my sleep!"

"Looks like it's tough for you..." I say sympathetically.

"Why? Why does she have to be such a glutton?" Youmu wails, before dropping her head down into her hands.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, I scoot around the table and pat her back. "There, there..."

After several minutes, she recovers enough to look up. "Sorry about that. I just feel so stressed lately... thank you for your trouble."

I smile widely. "Hey, it's no problem. We hunters have to stick together, right?"

She returns a weak smile of her own. "I guess so."

With the ice broken between us, we begin talking a lot more. Compared to me, Youmu is slightly ahead, and she's a predominant Long Sword user. Most of her hunts are to gather various types of meat for her mistress to eat, or to upgrade her equipment to better levels. As such, she has traveled extensively, with the exception of the Volcano area, since her weapon isn't suited to penetrating the hide of the beasts that inhabit that place.

"I think I might have to change my weapon, or just resolve myself to chipping away at them." Youmu confides.

"Or you can go on a group hunt." I hand her my guild card. "Here, in case you feel like calling on someone."

My food comes shortly after that, and our conversation is put on hold while I eat. After that, we chat about random things until the time grows late, and I head back to my room to turn in.

When I get up the next morning, I find that Youmu has already left for her hunt. Since there isn't anything else left for me at the outpost, I go get the tag for my balloon to the Desert area, and set out.

Like Youmu said, the hunt was simple. I manage to time things well enough for me to score a stab on the Cephalos while it's swimming through the sand, but most of the time, I stick to the easy way of flinging a Sonic Bomb to knock them above the ground, where I proceed to cut them up with my blade until they're dead. After that, it's just a matter of cutting them open to retrieve the livers. The quest asks for three, but I manage to get five. The rest of the time, I kill Genpreys and mine whatever I can, and I get my first Dragonite Ore.

The trip back to Pokke is quite relaxing, and I fall asleep on the balloon. When we finally reach the village, I go through the motions of harvesting the bounties of my farm before going back to sleep.

I'm still missing Gensokyo, especially when I think of my own Youmu.

* * *

><p>I know some people want me to return to writing for Keys to the Heart, but as of now, I still don't feel the muse for it. But it's charging up, yeah.<p>

So Ikuto has finally reached the Desert. Some timeskipping will occur soon. What monster do you want him to fight against next? Or what Touhou counterpart do you want him to meet? Post in reviews!


	11. MHF2: Missing Home

"Here are the material for the upgrade." I upend my bag over the counter, dropping the materials from the Rathalos onto it. "And here's the weapon." I hand over my Bone Katana 'Shark'.

Rinnosuke checks over the things, and nods. "You'll get the Wyvern Blade 'Fall' pretty quick. The upgrading won't take long."

"Out of curiosity, how do you upgrade the weapon? Can I see?"

"Are you serious?" The shopkeeper gives me an incredulous look.

"What? Why? What's wrong?"

Rinnosuke stares for a moment longer before shaking his head and beckoning to me. "...you'll see."

He gathers the materials and carries them into the back of the shop, while I head around the side to reach the same spot. I can hear his voice talking to someone else, passing on the instructions to upgrade my weapon. Before I can turn the corner, Rinnosuke suddenly steps in front of me with a somber expression.

"First, I should tell you that I have a twin brother."

_Rinnosuke has a twin brother? That's different from Gensokyo... _"Okay?"

"He looks pretty much like me, white hair, wears glasses... but character-wise, he's a little... strange." Rinnosuke's eyes dart to the side, as if afraid of somebody coming up from behind.

"How bad?"

He steps aside and gestures for me to go on. "Take a look."

I spot the person right away; his back is facing me, and he certainly has Rinnosuke's messy white hair, but the thing that stands out the most is that he's only wearing a loincloth in this cold weather, and let's just say that it really exposes the butt...

_What the heck is he doing? _I stare at the man, who is doing muscle posing. Glancing over at Rinnosuke, I realize that this twin of his is quite muscular compared to Rinnosuke's thin figure.

"HOO! HAAAH! YAAAH!"

"That's just his typical ritual before performing an upgrade. The real thing's starting soon."

What follows next is stuff I associate with typical blacksmithing, as Rinnosuke's twin thrusts the blade into the furnace to heat it up, at the same time placing some of the materials on top of it to warm them up as well. Then it is followed by more posing and grunting, which makes me wonder if I'm hallucinating. When they've been heated up to his satisfaction, he pulls them off the heat and places the blade on the anvil, while crafting the harder materials into the part that's meant to go on the hilt. A dash of Fire Wyvern Fluid, and he picks up the hammer.

"HAH! HAH! HAH! HAH! HAH!" He yells out with each swing of his tool.

_How the heck does it make that sound when it hits? _I wonder, listening to each blow create a 'DAKA!' sound. _The way it combines with his shouting... makes it sound like some bad joke. _(1)

"Seen enough?" Rinnosuke inquires.

I nod, and walk back to the front of the shop, where he soon joins me.

"That was just... weird."

He sighs. "That's why I try not to let him go out in public."

"What's his name anyway?"

Rinnosuke cringes and mutters. "MANnosuke."

"Mannosuke?" _I think I heard something like that on the Internet before."_

"NAY!" I jump when the person in question bursts out from the back of the shop. "It's MANnosuke! HAAH!"

THUNK!

He crumples to the floor unconscious, revealing Tokiko standing behind him with a dented frying pan.

"Sorry about that. You shouldn't say his name. It attracts his attention." She bends down, grabs him by his hair, and drags him into the back of the shop and out of sight.

_What the heck, is he some kind of Elder God or what? _"Okayyyy..."

"Here's your upgraded weapon, by the way." Tokiko comes back out with my new Long Sword in hand. "Hope it serves you well."

I accept it back from her and leave. _I think I'll try my best to forget this ever happened..._

* * *

><p><strong>Part 5: Snowy Reunion<strong>

"Ooh, how about this quest?" Akyuu smiles, handing me the document.

I take it and scan it over. "I'm not going solo?"

"No. The requester is a hunter herself, but she thinks she could use some help, which is why I'm passing this on to you."

_Hunting a Kirin, huh... I still don't have my Fire Hammer yet, but I've got that nice Long Sword... the sharpness won't be an issue with my Ki anyway. _I hand it back to her. "I'll take it."

"Great! I'll inform you as soon as she gets in."

I head down to my farm, and occupy myself with gathering materials from the place. It's particularly satisfying to gather more Ores and bugs, especially Flashbugs, you gotta love Flash Bombs.

Trenya's also waiting for me, and from the looks of the stuff in his boat, he's god quite a haul this time.

"Yo, whatcha got?" I greet the Felyne.

It _is_ a haul, and turns out he's brought me some Dragonwood and Dragonmoss. If I recall correctly, those are used to make that wooden Long Sword that can paralyze. Not that I used it when I was playing, but I quite liked the design, and since I had the materials...

Anyway, I send Trenya out again, this time with instructions to head for the Desert. Hope he gets me some good stuff again.

When I return to my place for a meal and a bath, I find a note pinned on my door. _Let's see... yep, my client and fellow hunter is in already. That's pretty fast._

I can't take any Usagis on a team hunt, so I leave Nerin to train at home a little, while I set out for the guild hall after a scrumptious meal cooked by my chefs. I spot my client almost immediately, because of her looks.

_Eirin... _It has been a few weeks since I was dumped here by Yukari, and seeing Eirin, even if it's a differente version of her, is a nostalgic sight. _Looks exactly like her... except for the Bow she's carrying. _

From the looks of her appearance, while she customized her armor to have the same red-blue pattern her Gensokyo self has, the rubbery look to it tells me she's using Red Khezu armor, which is just the sort of equipment a medic-type would use. I'm betting she probably has a few Lifepowders on her as well.

I make my way over to where she's sitting and take the seat across from her. "Yagokoro Eirin? I'm your partner on this hunt, name's Ikuto."

"Nice to meet you." She cocks her head. "Ikuto... do you know my disciple Reisen?"

"Yes, she mentioned you once. I'm surprised she's not with you on this hunt."

"She's currently recovering from some injuries. The silly girl made a mistake against a Rathalos and received a few wounds."

"Is she alright?"

"She'll be fine. She's learnt her lesson this time." Eirin smiles at me, apparently pleased to see me show concern for Reisen.

"So why do you need me? I thought you were capable enough of taking on a Kirin by yourself." I ask, curious.

"The truth is, I've never hunted in this habitat before. It's usually Reisen who does it for me."

"Oho?" I smirk at her, and she kicks me lightly underneath the table.

"Don't you start. So, how will we be hunting the Kirin?"

I start off by outlining the basic areas of the Snowy Mountains, indicating the ones where the Kirin was likely to be. After that, I give a basic description of its attacks; the lightning bolts, the charging, the possible kicks with its hooves, and how to avoid them.

"The lightning ones are the hardest to deal with, because it's not possible to tell which patterns it will use."

"You sound very familiar with it. Have you hunted it before?" Eirin asks me.

_Geh, crap. I forgot about not letting my knowledge show too much. _"Actually, no. But all of this comes from information I put together myself."

"You did a good job. I wish Reisen could learn from your example." She says approvingly.

I smile at Eirin. "She's no slouch herself. Must be because of her master, I suppose."

"Hmm?" She tilts her head to the side and blinks at me. "You have a nice way with words, don't you?"

_Wait, man, this isn't your Eirin... what the hell are you doing? _"Why thank you." I reply, ignoring both the voice of my subconscious and the thing rubbing up against my leg under the table. "Shall we?"

"Of course."

* * *

><p>We talk a bit more on the trip to the base camp, and I learn a few combination recipes from her, plus Eirin actually gives me the Book of Combos 3 for free, saying she studied hers enough to know it by heart. Seeing how much information it has inside, and considering that there are two more books before it, it makes me wonder just how could she retain all that information.<p>

And we also flirted a bit... Gensokyo or not, Eirin is still quite good-looking and sexy. Not to mention it has been quite a while since I left Gensokyo... and its benefits. The result is quite a bit of discomfort for me.

Luckily, the area is cold, and that helps me control my physiological response somewhat. In fact, I forego the Hot Drink so I can properly 'appreciate' the cold temperature.

From the look Eirin gives me, she knows what I'm doing.

I stop her just as we're passing by a mineral vein. "Hold up, I want to mine this."

She watches me pull out a pickaxe and start hacking away, before asking, "Got any spares? I could use a few Ores myself."

"Sure." I pause to hand her one of my Mega Pickaxes. "Here you go."

"Thank you." She takes it from me and stands back while I finish extracting a chunk of Dragonite Ore.

After we're done, we make our way to the exit of the cave system, and emerge out into the brightly lit white landscape. The howling wind presses down on us, and Eirin shrinks back a little, surprised by its intensity.

"You okay?" I block the wind with my body, while gulping down the Hot Drink.

"Y-yes, just a bit surprised, that's all." She straightens up. "Okay, let's-"

I tackle her, covering her mouth with one hand while pulling her into the shadows. "Shh! It's here!"

Eirin initially struggles, but when she hears my warning, her body relaxes and she taps my hand over her mouth. I release her, and she crouches down next to me. "Where?" She whispers.

I raise a finger and twitch it leftwards, and she follows my signal.

The Kirin is rather average for its size; slightly taller than I am. Blue and white with stripes and fur, it really stands out, even with the snowy background. From here, I can feel the energy it's putting off, and it's a bit similar to Iku's electricity manipulation. At the moment, it is slowly walking out from the entrance to the summit, attracting the attention of the Antekas present. They don't seem to mind its presence, not even when it looses a few lightning bolts around it.

"The max range is about five to ten meters, but be careful of it when it charges." I warn, gripping the handle of my blade. "Other than that, I'll be the one facing the most risk."

Eirin assembles her bow. She takes a moment to add some Paralysis Coating, before nodding to me.

"Go."

I quickly dash out from my hiding place, my feet kicking up snow as I run to get behind the Kirin. _Eirin shouldn't have any trouble shooting since I'm not in the way. _

The Kirin turns its head and sees me, and the atmosphere becomes noticeably thicker, in both intent and energy. Just as I launch a blade-draw strike, it jumps out of the way, making a heavy blow nothing more than a thin scratch along its flank.

_Fast!_ I roll away, just as it tosses its head and summons lightning down. _That one nearly hit me! _

A thud, then another; Eirin is shooting arrows one after another, and it looks as though the Kirin is starting to realize that I'm not the only threat.

"AAAAAAHHHH!" I yell out loud, raising my Long Sword over my head for a heavy slash.

Then I dodge to the side to avoid a sudden charge, and duck to avoid one of Eirin's arrows.

"Sorry!" I hear her call.

Spinning around, I lash out with a horizontal cut, and it strikes the Kirin on its muzzle in a small fiery explosion. Arrows continue to smack into its shoulder and neck, each one delivering a small dose of paralytic poison.

I go around to the right, and stab it in the same area, before whipping the blade around and leaping back, just as it drops another bunch of lightning bolts.

_That was close. _I notice something else. "Eirin, look out!"

The Kirin whirls around and rushes at the woman, who performs several leaps to the side, and counters with yet another shot. As I quickly run back to where she is, the Kirin turns to face her, and jumps in a zigzag pattern, one of which knocks Eirin flying.

"EIRIN!"

"I'm fine!" Her reply makes me alter my path to go for the Kirin instead, and I see her roll to her feet. "Cover for me!"

"Got it!"

I begin a series of slashes, scoring the Kirin's flank several times severely while it prances around me trying to stab me with its horn or hit me with a lightning bolt. I take a few strikes myself, but apart from zapping me off my feet, it's not much of a bother, especially with my better armor.

Then another arrow hits it right between the eyes, and the Kirin freezes up, twitching. _It's paralyzed!_

"EIRIN!" I bellow, quickly sheathing my weapon and reaching for my item pack.

"Here!" Her footsteps approach me, and she's also digging through her pack.

We set down separate Large Barrel Bombs, a total of four, before distancing ourselves. I'm still feeling the adrenaline from landing so many strikes, and it's bursting to unleash itself. Eirin draws the string back further and further, charging up the force of the attack.

Then she releases, and the area goes up in a huge burst of flame that makes me stagger back with one hand covering my eyes. _WOOHOO! Explosion! Art is a bang! _(2)

I lower my hand and charge forward, taking care not to slip in the ice melt from the heat. The Kirin was blasted off its hooves and down on its side, but it's still alive. I begin swinging, this time with even more force than my earlier attack. Blood spurts out from the wounds, and its struggles are getting weaker.

Eirin suddenly shouts at me. "Ikuto! Get back!"

I quickly roll to the side and jump away, using my Ki to assist me, just as several bolts ravage the place. _Holy crap! Those were on a whole different level! It's gone into rage mode! _"Eirin! Be careful, it's mad!"

A flash of white and blue bursts out of the steam from the lightning, heading for Eirin. I'm too far to do anything, except take a quick Potion to heal myself.

However, Eirin manages to avoid the Kirin rather easily; while she might be hunting here for her first time, her experience with dealing with other beasts has given her some instincts in sensing danger. She narrowly avoids getting run over with a flourish, and dances out of the way of the sudden stop and shift to lightning, manually using one of her arrows to stab the Kirin in the chest. The moment she's got enough distance, she begins firing rapidly, jumping to the side to circle around it and avoid facing it head on.

I draw my blade and run forward, preparing for an upwards slash. The Kirin is definitely on its last legs now, and this strike would most likely end it.

"My turn. HAAAAH!" I throw my entire body into the swing, judging it right as the Kirin turns.

With a small burst of flame, the Kirin goes flipping head over end before crashing into the packed ice. It writhes for a moment, and then it dies. I put away my Wyvern Blade 'Fall' and turn to look at Eirin, who's also putting away her weapon.

"Let's get carving before they come for us."

She nods and joins me in stripping the Kirin of usable materials. I manage to get several good things; looks like I'll be able to start on my Kirin armor soon. Soon enough, the balloon comes to pick us up, and we're on the way back to Pokke.

"So what do you think? Kirin's are actually pretty easy if you know how to deal with them." I ask Eirin, stretching out on the seat.

"It certainly was easier than I expected it to be. But it would be a different matter if I were to take one on alone." She replies thoughtfully.

"Feel free to invite me whenever you want then."

She glances at me out of the corner of an eye. "Hmm? Perhaps we should discuss that further..."

"Oh?" _Down, boy..._

"It's late, and I prefer to set out in the morning." Eirin leans closer to me. "So... how about putting me up at your place for a night? We could... talk."

"That sounds like a great idea. I'm sure we could find a lot of things to... talk about."

The flirting continues all the way back to the village, and needless to say, I slept happily that night.

* * *

><p>(1) 'Hadaka' is Japanese for 'naked'.<p>

(2) Obvious Naruto reference.

Took a while to get this chapter out. It seems when I suspended my muse to study for exams, it takes quite a while before it comes back...

I think it'll be another two or three chapters before I return to my Keys to the Heart fanfic.


	12. MHF2: Earning One's Way

The white mist of my breath makes it hard to see my opponent, harder than it already is with the snowy wind blowing across the top of the mountain. Still, I can see the faint reddish glow of its limbs outlining the rest of its body; the enraged state of the Tigrex.

_Damn, I never thought it would be that loud. _I grouse, shifting my feet slightly to stand against the wind. _How long has it been since the last Hot Drink anyway?_

My hands are free, just in case I need to throw a Flash Bomb, but I'm very aware of the weight of my Devil Slicer on my back. I've been hacking away at the beast for quite a while now, and I've nearly cut through its tail; I definitely felt the metal scrape on the bone on that last hit.

It growls and thrusts a claw forward into the ground, launching three icy rocks in my direction. I easily sidestep the center one that was aimed straight at me, slipping through the gap between it and the left one.

_Not yet... not yet... _My boots crunch through the ice as I shift my position closer to the icy wall. _Come on, you beast... come at me..._

Then it happens; the Tigrex roars, not the loud cannon it hit me with before, but one of anger that precedes its charge. Powerful limbs tipped with sharp claws dig into the icy rock beneath the ground, propelling the body towards me with intense speed. I immediately break into a run, parallel to the rock wall behind me. It alters its direction slightly to keep me in its sight, and target; it is now a challenge between us, whether I can outrun the range of its turn, or whether it can hit me before I can do so.

Twenty meters. I'm around its shoulder.

Fifteen. The claw now, getting hit here would definitely be worse, but better not get hit at all.

Ten. This will be one heck of an elbow blow if it hits.

Five- The Tigrex suddenly whips its tail, throwing its body into a slight drift, and once again putting me within its sights.

_But you're not the only one who's got a trick up the sleeve! _I twist around, letting my momentum carry me across the ice as my knees bend for the jump. _There!_

My left foot hits the small stone sticking out, and I let the force of my Ki explode out, throwing me into a sudden reverse of direction. The Tigrex tries to turn as well, and its jaws open for a vicious bite.

There's a loud crunching noise; the Tigrex's teeth has penetrated the stone, and has gotten stuck. For me, I hit the ground in a roll, and I felt my weapon bruise my back even through the armor as I come to my feet.

"Nerin! Go!" I yell, reaching up to grab the handle with my right hand.

My Usagi quickly dashes in to set her bombs, while I run around the side to where its tail is. The Tigrex is thrashing around trying to get free, but apparently it's stuck pretty tight. Still, it makes hitting my target hard, since the tail is whipping around dangerously.

"HAAH!" I bring out my weapon in a quick draw slash right down on the tail.

The blade penetrates through the layer of scales with a burst of electricity, temporarily halting its movements. _There, there's the part I was hitting just now. _I tug my Devil Slicer free with a small spurt of blood that is already freezing over in this horrendous cold. _Adjust for the position, and attack!_

I thrust my blade forward in a straight stab from the left shoulder, piercing the tail in the spot I was aiming for. "Nice!" I hiss.

Pushing up on the handle, I cut through the layer of flesh, then whip around the blade to slice over the next part even as the tail swings downwards. I follow it up with another stab, this time from the waist on my right. This time, I rip the blade out downwards, and twirl into a spin for a heavy overhead blow. I hear Nerin's bomb go off, somewhere on the opposite side of the body from me.

The tail goes slightly out of range, but my strike cuts cleanly through the half I manage to hit. Quickly, I turn the blade around so that the sharp end is facing upwards, and cut back in the direction I swung earlier, just as the tail whips back into range.

With a terrifying screech, the Tigrex wrenches itself free of the rock, even as its tail goes flying into the air. Normally in my game, I'd quickly take the chance to carve my spoils from it, but I can't afford to this time.

_Pursue, pursue, pursue... _I chant in my head as I finally enter the flow of the Long Sword.

A horizontal slash across the nose, a stab to the left arm, spinning slash on the outside of the arm, vertical strike on the back of the claw, two stabs to the neck, X-slash to the side of the head, and a full-powered skull-crushing blow. I disengage by jumping back with a diagonal cut to the arm, just as it struggles back to its feet.

Sheathing my weapon quickly, I dig into my item pouch and pull out a Flash Bomb. I crack the trigger seal and toss it right into the face of the Tigrex, covering my eyes. I hear it roar angrily when the flash goes off, and quickly rush in again.

_Keep cutting, keep cutting... _I focus my attacks on its head, inflicting as much damage as I can.

Swing, a piece flies off from the arm. Swing, the face gets scarred. Swing, a gash appears on the limb.

Then finally... the Tigrex falls, crashing to the ground as the last of its life leaves its body. Almost mechanically, I sheathe my blade and grab my carving knife. Minutes later, I manage to extract the few Tigrex materials from its corpse and tail.

"Oooooi!"

I look up, hearing the call of the ballooner. Seeing the craft descending, I wave at it, and a small figure waves back. "Finally! I'm just about freezing here!"

The wind has pretty much died off, so there's no problem with him dropping a rope ladder down for me. While I climb up, a few Guild people abseil down to take care of the carcass, and some of them wave to me in thanks.

_Can't wait to go back to Pokke... I could use a meal and a bath. _Once I'm on board, I stretch myself out before slumping down tiredly. _...I'm really missing Gensokyo here..._

* * *

><p><strong>Part 6: The Price of Returning<strong>

"Good job!" Akyuu cheerfully praises me. "You're pretty used to hunting now, aren't you? That Tigrex wasn't much trouble, was it?"

"It was tough." I concede. "But the patterns are still there. I just stayed back until I got most of them down, then it was smooth sailing. Relatively."

"Good to hear that. Anyway, you should check out the stores, I hear we've got some new supplies in. They might be of help to you. Here," She fights one hand free of her covers, and presses money into my hand. "Here's a bonus for you to go with your reward."

"Thanks, Akyuu." I almost can't believe my luck.

"No need." She waves me off. "Take a break. You've earned it."

I nod and head off to check on my farm. Along the way, I drop a wad of cash off with Shizuha for a Large Barrel Bomb, promising to come back later to check what new stuff she's got. It goes to the mining 'mini-game', netting me a pretty good amount of mineral ores. I also gather a number of Herbs and Honey, since Mega Potions are always important. And then Trenya comes back from the Forest with some more excellent materials. I'm seriously on a roll here.

Actually, I wonder what Eirin (Gensokyo Eirin, not the one here) would make of the materials here. If a Herb and a Blue Mushroom can become a healing Potion, and mixing Honey into it strengthens the effect, what else can be accomplished with the other materials? Also, some of the Combo Books have pretty useful techniques.

As I return to my house, I idly take out my knife and carve another notch into the post nearby. It's been a month and a half since I came here, and honestly, I have to say I'm progressing at an excellent pace.

In fact, I've heard rumors that there's a Lao Shan Lung on the move, and there might be a request coming in for a hunter to take it down.

I pause in the act of stripping off my armor. _What the hell? I've grown more used to this than I expected. I can't believe I'm looking forward to taking down a gigantic dragon a hundred times my height. _Self-recognition finished, I resume disrobing. _I really need to find a way to get back... and that starts with getting in contact with-_

Somebody wolf-whistles. "You're looking good."

_Speak of the devil. _Still topless, I turn around slowly to see Yukari poking out of her usual gap. "Yukari. Long time no see."

"How true. How've you been?" She asks.

_Like you don't already know. _"Missing Gensokyo. Can I go back yet?"

"Not yet." She comes out fully, the gap sealing itself behind her. "Allow me to explain."

Making a chair appear out of nowhere, she takes a seat and begins to talk. Ever since I was thrown back in time from early winter to sometime in the summer by some interaction with EX Rumia's upgraded darkness power, the barrier between Gensokyo and the outside world was affected by the paradox of having two of me around at the same time in the same area. That was why Yukari shunted me out of Gensokyo.

"So what were you doing while I was here?" I ask.

"Fixing the damage to the barrier, of course." Yukari looks at me archly. "You know how much trouble it was to handle all that?"

"No." I deadpan, and change the subject. "So how long more do I have to stay here before I can return?"

"There are two ways about that. The first is to simply wait until your past self goes through the time warp, and then you take his place. However..." She trails off.

I'm not liking where this is going... "However?"

"There's a time flow difference." That one sentence is enough to make my heart sink.

"H-how bad?"

"If you wait all the way, it'll take upwards of a year here."

"What." I say flatly in response to that bit of information. "Isn't there a world where the time difference would be the other way around instead?"

"..." Yukari's eyes are closed.

A few minutes pass in silence, and my irritation slowly increases. _She's doing this on purpose, isn't she?_

"Zzz..." A rather fake-sounding snore comes from Yukari.

_I get the message... She's saying that she might end up falling asleep and forgetting about me, resulting in me being gone longer than I might want. _I pause to consider that notion more thoroughly. _Yep, I definitely think this current way is better._

Anyway, since Yukari is still feigning sleep, I grab a random nut from my item pouch and flick it at her head. The next moment, I whip my other hand out to catch the same nut, which had gone through a small gap that had opened up right where I aimed, connected to another gap to the left of my head.

"Good reaction." Yukari comments, her eyes open and watching me.

"Hmph. So what's the other way?"

"Well, there's this interesting piece of technology called a paradox machine." (1)

"Let me guess... it allows paradoxes to exist." It's pretty obvious by the name.

"That's right. I recently managed to get the plans for one, but it'll take time to build."

"Real thing's too well defended?" I ask.

"You could say that. But the one we're making is only temporary, so it doesn't have to have the full function." Yukari informs me.

"Okay..." I reply, nodding my head. "So, how long more do I have to stay here?"

"Another month at least." She replies.

"No way you can make it faster?" I ask, my heart sinking.

Turns out there is. And coincidentally, it involves me having to gather jewels. Rathalos, Rathian, Elder Dragon, I think she's trying to screw me over or something. Most people here go their entire lives without even seeing one, and she's asking me to gather so many of them.

"You're not screwing with me here, are you?" I ask suspiciously.

Yukari looks at me with an innocent expression. "Would I do something like that?"

_Yes. Yes you would. _"Anyway, how do I contact you to let you know I've got the jewels?"

"I suppose I'll come by once a week to check..." She trails off, then her eyes closes and her head slumps down. "Zzz..."

I facepalm. _She really likes to annoy me, doesn't she. _

An involuntary shiver makes me realize I've been topless all this while, and I decide to just go and take my hot bath. Honestly, I don't doubt that she can just steal the damn things if she wanted to, but she won't, because this way is just perfect to give me trouble. And she just loves to give me trouble.

Sure enough, when I come back from my bath, she's gone, with a list of materials she wants me to get. There's also a postscript telling me she doesn't mind if I want to use them to upgrade my equipment first, as long as I get the quota she asks for.

I crosscheck the list with what I might need for the equipment I have in mind. Most likely I'll be using the Rathalos and Rathian Rubies, for both the armors as well as the Long Sword and Dual Blades weapons. But since I'm going to be focused on getting back home to Gensokyo, I think I'll just set one aside as soon as possible.

The only problem is that I haven't gotten the clearance for the quests that would allow me to take on those beasts. From what I recall, both the Gold and Silver appeared at the top of the Tower map, which I've yet to see.

I sigh. _Looks like I won't have much time to rest..._

* * *

><p>"You sure it's here?" My companion whispers as we creep down into the cavern.<p>

"It's the only place with a body of water large enough." I reply. "Trust me."

"Well, you're the one who knows this place." Murasa Minamitsu replies.

We're currently hunting a Plesioth, and it's in the Desert area. Since there's only one place where it'll appear, we don't have to waste time running around searching for it.

Murasa is a rather short girl with dark hair and blue eyes, and her armor is made of White Khezu material, with a few stylish additions to make it look like a sailor outfit. She uses a Hammer in the shape of an anchor. It supposedly has Water Element attributes, which isn't the Plesioth's weakness, but apparently it means enough to her that she refuses to use anything else. But she defers to me in nearly everything else, since I've got rank and experience on her.

"Hot Drinks." I order, and we both gulp down the warm fluid. "Got your Frogs? Traps? Barrel Bombs?"

She nods to each of them, and we go into action. I point out the location where she can fish it out, omitting the instructions on how to handle herself so that she isn't the one pulled in instead. From there, we estimate the point where the Plesioth will land, then where it will wriggle to before finally standing up, and place our bombs at the last location. Before Murasa heads over to the fishing point, she goes to where the Plesioth is likely to run before it makes the jump back into the water, and sets up a Pitfall trap there.

"Ready." She waves to me, glancing at the fin cutting through the water.

"Ready." I toss and catch a stone, the trigger for the volatile Large Barrel Bombs.

I keep a close eye on her as she puts the frog bait on the line and casts it out into the water. The fin continues to go back and forth, but suddenly it switches direction, heading for Murasa's position. Then, with a loud-sounding plop, it disappears beneath the surface.

"CONTACT!" Murasa screams, suddenly fighting with the fishing pole as a furious splashing occurs right in front of her. "Come on, you damn fish! Get... up... HERE!"

With a huge heave, she suddenly jerks the Plesioth up and over her head, causing it to crash on the damp rock behind her. I tense up slightly, gripping the small stone tightly in my fist. It flops on the place where it landed for a moment, before suddenly whipping its body from side to side, slithering straight forward... and right in between the four barrels we set up.

"Fire in the hole!" I yell, and pitch the stone at the nearest one.

It goes up in a large burst of flame, in turn igniting the other one near it, which does the same to the next, resulting in a giant explosion with the Plesioth right in the center. Before the flames have even died away, I'm already running in with my blade ready to be drawn. To my left, Murasa is sprinting in as well, one hand gripping her Hammer's handle.

"I go this way, you go that way!"

"Got it!"

Being closer, I reach my target first, and start cutting away at the scaly ankle. The Plesioth was hurt by the bombs and it stumbled on its recovery, but it managed to get to its feet before I could reach it. But it can't attack yet, and that's what matters.

I hack, stab, slash and cut, falling into the sequence of continuous attacks. My Ki bleeds through the Wyvern Blade 'Blood', increasing the cutting power and somehow augmenting the fiery explosions it creates as it slices into the beast's flesh.

"It's turning!" Murasa warns me, suddenly altering direction to go around my back.

I jump back with one last cut and aim for its chin with the tip of my sword. Luckily, this Plesioth isn't that big, so I manage to get two cuts before it suddenly steps back.

"Shit!" I hear Murasa curse, while I quickly hop backwards to avoid the impending attack.

The force of its tackle is enough to generate a powerful wind on my face, but I'm barely out of range, so I'm safe. Both of us take advantage of its recovery to attack its legs, with Murasa unleashing a spinning attack that targets a particularly sensitive spot at the back of its ankles.

I recognize the attack moments before it occurs.

"Look out!" I scream, rolling aside.

"Wha-" Murasa is knocked flying by the tail whip, tumbling head over heels.

I've sheathed my weapon and avoided the next tail whip by outrunning it, and I drop a few Small Barrel Bombs between rolls. The Plesioth seems to ignore their effects, but every little bit counts.

Eventually it stops trying to whack me with its tail, and Murasa comes in to resume where she left off, having replenished her life with a few Potions, I'm sure. However, this time she focuses her attacks on the same leg as me, and I carefully maintain my distance to avoid hitting her. We also recognize the need to keep our attacks from overlapping; she hits high when I hit low, and vice versa.

Suddenly the Plesioth screeches and topples over, its leg buckling under the injuries we've inflicted.

"Go for the head! I'll take the gills!" I order.

Murasa obliges and starts hammering away on the jaw, while I savage the pulsing lines that are the Plesioth's gills. It makes some pretty loud screeches of pain when I jam the sharp point of my blade right into one of them.

"You're noisy!" Murasa snaps, silencing it in mid-scream with a heavy whack to the bottom of the jaw.

It suddenly stops flopping around and begins getting up, and we back off slightly, watching it carefully to see what it will do next.

We call it the same time it makes the motion. "BITE!"

And we rush straight in beneath the jaws to resume wailing away on its legs again. Barely a minute later, it suddenly freezes and stands still.

_Oh shit, chicken run! _"Retreat!" I yell, turning and sprinting away as fast as I can.

Looking over my shoulder, I see that Murasa has managed to get a safe distance away as well, and just as I predicted, the Plesioth is running straight for the water. I change my direction, and see Murasa doing the same. The point all three of us are converging on is a Pitfall Trap waiting for the Plesioth... to... just... fall... IN!

With an alarmed shriek, the giant fish wyvern sinks up to its chest, putting its back fin within our striking range. Following the plan we made earlier, both of us start attacking the fin, our attacks landing consecutively. And with a wet snapping noise, the spines break. At the same time, the fin suddenly sinks down, signaling the Plesioth's weakness.

Both of us quickly sheathe away our weapons, and fling Tranquilizers in unison. With two bursts of grey smoke, the Plesioth suddenly settles down, completely out cold.

Taking a moment to catch my breath, I look at Murasa. She's resting her hands on her knees, but when she catches me looking, the girl flashes me a grin and a thumbs up. I nod, then hit my communicator to signal the Guild of our mission's success.

This is only just one of the few steps I have to take to earn my way back to Gensokyo...

When I return to Pokke, Akyuu suddenly comes up to me.

"I've got a request here for a hunter get a Lunastra."

Looks like I'm going to get to experience the Tower sooner than I thought.

* * *

><p>(1) Apparently, there's such a thing from the Doctor Who series. I honestly didn't know about this when I thought up the idea, but after I Googled it on a whim...<p>

Just wanted to write out another chapter of this before I continue my other fanfic. At the rate I'm progressing, this arc should take another two or three more chapters. Feel free to leave reviews on what dragons you want my character to encounter and fight. So much I want to do, so little time...


	13. MHF2: Princess and Titan

_Well, the place sure looks abandoned. _I think to myself as I run down the path, heading up to the tower. _Aaaand, there's the Remobras..._

I ignore the flying snakes, though something inside me calls for me to cut them down and skin them for materials. This is my first time confronting an Elder Dragon, and suffice to say, I'm a little nervous. The sight of the tall structure looming ahead doesn't help things either. I idly dodge around a swooping Remobra, and head on inside.

The first area is full of Thunderbugs, including a few of their gigantic counterparts. I avoid those giant balls of light, cutting around their drifting paths, and hopping over a fallen pillar on my way towards the opening on the opposite side.

_Hmm, the urge to get this over and done with is very strong._ I muse to myself as I emerge out into daylight once more, courtesy of a roofless area with two of those flying black snakes. _Huh, I thought the Lunastra would be here. Guess my memory was... _

I pass through the small door on the far end, and realize I confused the new area with the current one. The Lunastra is actually in the area I just entered, and from the looks of it, going... going... gone.

"Shit." I curse, seeing the shrinking blue shape soar up and away. "Now I gotta go all the way to the top. Dammit."

Sighing, I continue jogging onwards, towards the entrance that will take me into the actual interior of the tower. Just like how I remember it, the inside has a spiral ramp leading up to the top, but in its broken down state, the route has been blocked off partway by fallen rubble. I can easily climb over the rocks with my skills, but I have to honestly admit, even with my ability to slow my fall, I don't particularly wish to experience what it's like to fall all the way down if I make a mistake.

_I suppose after stupidly rushing into danger all the time at Gensokyo, I'm now making up for it. _Smiling wryly, I circle along the inner wall, following the ramp. _Man, that's a nice view of the outside... except towers aren't supposed to have gaping holes in such spots._

There are some hanging vines around the place, but they don't look like they hold anything special for me to gather, nor do they look strong or long enough for me to climb up to the next section, so I ignore them. The only open route takes me into a musty-smelling chamber, and seeing that it's empty, I simply head for the other opening, where a long flight of stairs opens up onto another unobstructed portion of the ramp for me to continue my jog up to the top.

It appears that my earlier confidence regarding my ability to climb over the blocked sections was misguided; to my left from where I reentered the inside of the tower, a huge portion of the ramp, about one entire loop, was missing. I would have to climb along the wall in order to make it to where I currently am, and I doubt it would be easy with the Remobras hanging around the area. In fact, one of them is currently flying towards me, while I was distracted with my contemplation of the place.

My body reacts automatically, and I jerk my sword from its holster to slice it into half. The two sections split to go around me, before crashing wetly against the wall behind. Rolling my eyes, I continue forward, idly thinking about the training potential of having to ascend this tower every day. It's worth a thought, at least.

The final chamber has a few Shakalakas that try to mug me, but I kick them away as I slow down to a walk. I perform a few last minute checks on my equipment; I've got Whetstones, Potions and Mega Potions, a few Flash Bombs, and some food to keep my stamina up during the fight. I also take note of the pressure pad up ahead, a large one that spans the corridor connecting the room I'm in to the doorway that leads to the outside.

_That thing will lock me outside after I cross it. _I snort. _Just how the actual game was meant to go. This tower looks like it was meant to sacrifice people to whatever dragon comes out, by leaving them on the outside to be eaten._

I reach up and grip the handle of my blade, my gauntleted hand locking onto the rough surface.

_But this time, I'm the one doing the hunting._

* * *

><p><strong>Part 7: Working One's Way Up<strong>

A giant boulder slams down behind me, surprisingly softer than I expected. The top of the tower is the same weatherworn green-brown as the rest of the tower, but unlike the interior, the wind-smoothed rock has no dust, but instead several gouges from the claws of the dragons that were here before.

The Elder Dragon that's here now, however...

I make a long face. _It's asleep. I seriously didn't take THAT long to come up here, did I?_

But just as I had that thought, the light blue form shifts. It rolls from its side onto its belly, and slowly raises itself to its feet. The sight of its strong-looking wings flaring up together with the white-tipped tail is a majestic one, even as the Lunastra lets loose a roar that has no emotion in it except to wake itself up.

Hearing enough roars from other wyverns has given me a sense for that sort of thing.

Then again, it provides another roar for comparison the next moment, when it spots me. Anyone could tell the difference between the two.

_Then again... not many people would get close enough to listen without being a hunter. _I break into a sprint straight at it,

At the last moment, I take a step back, narrowly avoiding a paw swipe. Before it can pull that paw back, I close the remaining distance and swing my sword, slicing into the crown-like crest on its head with a burst of black energy. I can feel the shock through my arms; the material is much tougher compared to the typical scale and webbing of the wyverns I've went up against before. The next attack skitters over the tough skin, barely penetrating it. The one after that was aimed at the face, and this time it cuts the Lunastra across the muzzle, causing it to turn its head sharply.

I quickly roll to the side, narrowly avoiding the sharp jaws that snap down where I just was. It shifts its weight slightly, but I'm already moving again; the tip of my Long Sword scores across the top of its ankle, cutting deeper than my second attack had thanks to me putting my body weight into it. My hop back takes me out of the range of another swipe.

The Lunastra lets out an angry growl, rearing up. Even at this range, I can feel a sucking sensation as its body swells slightly.

_Those are some lungs. _My body moves automatically, remembering the harsh trainings with Meiling, about how I was conditioned to recognize an impending attack and avoid accordingly. _And it's only been honed even further against beasts who don't even think twice about holding back._

The Dragon Element crackles as I run past the length of its body, dragging my blade along its flank as I go. Really, just how does it damage dragons anyway? I mean, it's a form of energy that dragons give off, yet damages dragons. It just doesn't make any sense...

_Whoops, I don't think I'm that good enough to think about such things while I'm fighting a Lunastra. _I twist and execute a flip, going over the whipping tail. _Lunastra uses Tail Whip! But it fails! _(1) _I wonder... what happens if I stab this up its butt?_

Unfortunately, the idea is discarded when the beast whirls around, and breaks into a charge. It clips me on the shoulder, knocking me to the ground. The damage isn't much, and I fall in way that I can get up right away.

And in the nick of time too. "WAAAH!" I yelp as a giant blue missile rushes towards me.

The pouncing Lunastra narrowly misses me, thanks to a lifesaving dive. _Damn, my time perception's off! I need to get back into my rhythm!_

I rush into attacking again, unleashing several stabs towards its face. The Lunastra flinches with every strike, causing those I'm aiming at its eyes to miss, but I'm still doing damage.

Then I suddenly whip it around into a slash at its left cheek, before dashing towards the hind end. _Have to get the tail too! _I think furiously as I chop away at the flailing appendage.

It's not particularly easy, considering that the Lunastra keeps trying to face towards me so it can either bite, claw, or broil me, failing which it whips its tail around like a beast trying to swat a fly, making it even harder to hit my target.

Somehow, I can really identify with the fly metaphor. It keeps weaving and twisting around in an attempt to get me, sometimes leaping back like some annoyed cat, only to pounce or dash forward again. Okay, maybe not a fly, but I really feel like the mouse in a game of cat-and-mouse.

"I'M SUPPOSED TO BE THE HUNTERRRRR!" I yell, jabbing my blade foward.

My eyes widen when I realize the tip, the very sharp tip, goes up the right nostril. And that sends the Lunastra into a rage. In some way, I can understand, but really, the entire situation just screams 'shit happens', doesn't it?

The ear-piercing roar comes first, forcing me to cover my ears. The next is a burning feeling that soaks into every part of my body, making me grit my teeth in order to bear the pain. It feels like ants biting me all over, and the cause of it is the aura of heat the Elder Dragon I'm facing is putting off. My sword is losing its sharpness already, so I put Disengage Tactic One-B into effect right away.

Ahh... Disengage Tactic One... also known as, RUN THE HELL AWAY! The B in the name stands for Flash Bomb, which I toss in front of the Lunastra before I run like Flandre wants to make me go boom. Never was there as much motivation as when I was avoiding the younger Scarlet sister, and I channel a fraction of that motivation into my movement now.

It lasts only for three seconds, by which time the Lunastra is growling angrily, blinded by the flash, and I'm no longer within the range of its searing aura. Turning around to keep it within sight, I start sharpening my weapon, popping open a Mega Potion to drink once I was done.

_I can still feel a bit of the sting from the heat. Man, I bet my skin is lobster red... _I toss away the spent Whetstone. _Nobody cares about a piece of litter all the way up here... _Grabbing up the open Mega Potion, I bolt it down in two gulps. "Ahhh~... good stuff." (2)

The rush from the attacks I launched earlier is still coursing through my body, and it pushes me to reenter the bubble of heat once more. The Lunastra is shaking off the effect of the Flash Bomb, so I quickly take advantage of the shrinking window to start cutting at the headpiece once more. I remember that the heat aura vanishes once it's broken, which is why I'm focusing on it.

_I think I used Dual Swords against it in the game... but I don't have those now. _I notice it tense up and start emitting yellow motes of light. _Ah crap, it's the explosions move. If I remember, there's close range and long range, so... _I stand near the side so I can chip at the wings with the end of my weapon, the only thing able to reach that high.

My fifty percent gamble pays off, as the igniting snap of the Lunastra's jaws results in balls of fire flaring up several meters away. I sheathe my sword in favor of taking a Potion to deal with the burning while running away when it turns to face me again.

_I hate Lunastra, I hate Lunastra, I hate Lunastra, _I chant in my mind as I keep running out of its range.

It takes several more minutes of whacking plus two more Flash Bombs before my blade finally cleaves through the hardened bone, breaking the Lunastra's 'horn', while the beast was knocked down and trashing around in pain. The stupid thing is that the burning aura fades a few seconds before that happens. My luck is always like that...

I toss my last Flash Bomb and proceed to focus on hacking off the tail. Like with all tail targets, it's a difficult one. The tail is smaller than the head, and it moves around a lot more. And unlike the head, the signals for an impending attack comes from somewhere else. The chances to actually score a hit only come when the Lunastra pauses in its movements.

Which is why I feel really damn good about myself when I finally sever that white brush off from its blue handle. "Take that, you stupid dragon!"

Cut, cut, slash, cut, slice, stab, cut, slash, cut...

And finally... the Lunastra falls. It collapses onto its side, and doesn't rise again. Naturally, I start harvesting. It isn't until I see the puddle of sweat beneath me that I realize just how hard I fought.

_Gah, Elder Dragons are so damn hard... _I grab my water bottle and take a drink. _Yucks, it's warm. But I need the water._

My armgear signals to let me know that the balloon is underway to pick me up, just as I finish stripping the severed tail of what I can get from it.

_If I have to fight another one, it'll be too soon. Yet I'm going to have to. _I sigh heavily. _FML._ (3)

* * *

><p>"Here's your upgraded weapon. Hope it serves you well." Rinnosuke smiles, handing over my new Fire element Hammer.<p>

"It will, especially against Kirins..."

"Oh yeah, we've got a new trader come by. You might want to check out her wares."

"What sort of stuff does she have?" I ask, turning around to look over the village in an attempt to spot her.

"It's some new creation, they're called Mobile Dolls."

_Dolls? That means... Alice. _"What do they do?" I ask, having a feeling I know the answer already.

"They act like Usagis or Felynes, except they can only be used on Hunts." Rinnosuke looks over my shoulder. "Speak of the Fatalis, there she is now."

I give him a disbelieving glance before turning to look. _If speaking of the Fatalis called it, I believe we'd all be dead by now. Heh, maybe it would be like the Voldemort _(4) _of this place._

Alice looks just like my version, blond hair, red hairband, blue dress with white shawl, just like a doll herself. Unlike the giant bag that Tewi lugs around, her load of dolls is carried by a mini hot air balloon, with several deactivated dolls in the basket. I don't see anything controlling which direction the balloon goes, but it follows her automatically.

"Ooooi~!" Rinnosuke calls out to her. "Alice-san!"

She notices and comes over, looking at me with mild interest.

"This is the hunter I was telling you about before. Ikuto, this is Alice Margatroid. She's a Mobile Doll trader."

"And crafter." Alice corrects. "I make my own dolls from scratch."

"Hmm, mind telling me more over a few drinks?" I ask.

"I suppose I'll accept that invitation..." Alice now regards me with increased interest.

I'll say it right now that I don't have any ulterior motives by asking her out like that. Seriously.

We head to the guild hall for a meal, and she tells me about her dolls. Naturally, she won't divulge how the dolls are able to react and function, but I have a lot of fun listening to how they can attack the target. Besides the basic manner of equipping them with a weapon such as a sword or a lance, Alice has given them the expanded function of firing Elemental or Status shots from mini-rocket pods loaded onto their arms.

"So you can create a doll for me if I get you the right materials?" My jaw is hanging at that bit of information.

"There are limits, of course." Alice tells me as she sips her fruit juice. "Every doll lasts only for a certain period of time, and that period is shortened the more its used."

"I can see why," I comment, "Exposure to fire, water, weather... and I bet some of their extra abilities have a bit of blowback, right?"

Alice nods. "Fire-types are the ones that last the shortest. One moment."

She picks one of the doll hanging off her belt and sends it outside, where we left her balloon. It soon comes back with another doll, this one deactivated, carrying it in a fireman's carry. Picking both up, Alice deactivates the first and hangs it back onto her belt before putting the other one in front of me.

It's like one of her usual dolls, except this one is carrying a bulky backpack. Several tubes run from its sides and bottom to both arms, where large firing tubes replace the hands. One tube provides the ammunition, which is loaded into the top of the backpack, while the others provide the propulsion, in order to launch the bullet at the target.

"It's similar to the premise of a bowgun. The element lies in the shot, which uses the same ammunition. But let's say I use Dragonwood and Dragonmoss with the launching mechanism." Alice pokes at one of the base tubes. "The shot will have Paralyzing properties."

"So what increases damage?"

"Gunpowder, Fire Sacs, Firestone... anything incendiary works." Alice looks around furtively and leans in. "This is a secret, but I've discovered a new mixture that's at least five times as powerful as normal Gunpowder." She informs me in a whisper.

"Why don't you market it then?" I murmur back.

"It's difficult to make, even under controlled conditions. Luckily I had my dolls to conduct the experiments, but it paid off." Sitting up straight, Alice continues, "I've made a self-destruct doll, packed to the brim with the mixture."

I immediately saw where she was going with this. "You want me to test it out for you."

The blonde nods. "I'd compensate you adequately."

A smile spreads across my face. "Shall we... negotiate the terms?"

Our discussion is an intense one, but by the time we're finished, both parties are well and truly satisfied.

* * *

><p>"How did I let her talk me into this again?" I ask myself as I stare at the creature heading my way. "Oh right, she's just that good with her tongue, that's how."<p>

Alice request was for me to test her Blast Doll against a truly formidable opponent. I initially assumed something like a Azure Rathalos would do, but when she kept insisting it had to be something bigger, I didn't expect a Shen Gaoren.

_Right, let's see... I'm supposed to whack the legs until they turn red, resulting in which the Gaoren lowers itself down so I can hit the body. That's when I'll use the Blast Doll. _I plan out in my mind.

When it comes out of the mist, I feel reaffirmed in my decision to use a Long Sword. The gigantic crab might have a lumbering gait, but the speed isn't anything to scoff at; one wrong move and those huge clubs would knock me flying.

But first... I fling a stone against the large barrels the moment the nearest foot comes into range, causing the Barrel Bombs to blow up spectacularly. The damage makes the Gaoren clearly stumble, and I run in to start hacking away.

I dance around the six moving trunks, ignoring the hanging claws. The first leg soon turns dull red, then after a much longer interval, a bright red. Upon seeing that, I change target to the next, repeating the process. By the time I'm done getting all but the last one, it's nearly out of the area. Grimacing, I break off to head over to the next area. The boulders that separate each area in which I face the Gaoren is actually to prevent hunters from falling into the deep swamps there.

I set down the Blast Doll nearby, to be activated the moment the Gaoren drops its body. That said, it doesn't take long to inflict the required damage, upon which I hit the remote activator and beat the heck out of there. Glancing over my shoulder, I see the Blast Doll hop to its feet and totter over towards the main body with an eerie speediness. Even from here, I can hear an ominous beeping.

_I seriously wouldn't want something like that after me..._

PI-PI-PI-PI-PI-PI-PIPIPIPIPIPIPIPIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIII...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The Gaoren is engulfed in a blaze of fire big enough to cover the entire main body, and it actually goes into spasms.

"Holy shit." I say slowly. "Hohhh-leeeee shiiiiiit." _Guess we can mark that one down as a great success._

Once the flames burn themselves out, I can see that the Gaoren is noticeably charred, and quickly run in to take advantage of it. I manage several good hits on it before it finally shakes off the blast effect and naturally goes into a rage, speeding up its movements. But since it still stays low on the ground, it's not as dangerous as it would have been. I mean, just look at the speed those legs move when the thing's in a frenzy! It'd be like getting hit by a speeding truck!

_Man, actually, now that I've been hunting for several weeks already, I have to say that hunting alone is pretty damn boring. All it is is just hack and slash, and try not to get hit. Then afterwards it's carving, farming, upgrading... I really can't wait to get back to Gensokyo._

Of course, that means having to get all the Jewels. I still don't have to level required to confront Gold and Silver yet, but I'm getting there.

The Gaoren finishes tearing through the wooden barricade, and I break off again. I managed to get two-thirds of the legs red, and sure enough, it goes down again in the next area.

_Seriously, why doesn't it die before the final area? This is supposed to be reality! There's no such thing as invincibility, right? _I think furiously as I keep whacking away at the carapace.

In the end, the Shen Gaoren falls at the final area... courtesy of the-

"DRAGONATOR!" I yell, hitting the button.

The sharp spikes fire out of their barrels, drilling deeply into the Gaoren's body. It stays up for several seconds as its juices fly around from the furious spinning of the spikes, jerking slightly when they're withdrawn, but eventually it falls, like a tree whose trunk has been cut through. The crash is enough to kick up a great cloud of dust.

"TIMBERRRRRRR!" I shout as I watch it go down, jumping down myself so I can get my carves.

I manage to get a Pincer and a Spine, with two Shells, which I consider a big success. The reward after the professional carvers had their crack at it isn't small either, so when I finally head back to the village, it's with a big smile on my face.

_It might be a boring task, but the final outcome makes it all worth it._

Alice finds me after I'm done seeing to my farm. With a few more points, I should be able to get the last parts fully upgraded. Trenya's doing well with his explorations too, and he brings back quite a wealth of goods nearly all the time.

"So, how was it?"

"Better than I expected, really." I call up the memory of the Blast Doll going boom. "It's like... ten Large Barrel Bombs, I estimate."

Alice smiles. "That's good to hear."

"I don't think you can market them that easily though. A blast that size would be fatal to a hunter who doesn't know what he's doing."

"I suppose I could modify them slightly..." Alice trails off as she ponders that idea. "But anyway, I assume you want your reward now."

"If it's not too much trouble."

"Here, two Shield Dolls and a Sleep Gunner Doll." The dollmaker rests a hand on my arm before I can put them away. "You know, I wouldn't mind selling some of the original Blast Dolls to you..."

I grin at her. "How about we negotiate... with some coffee at my place?"

* * *

><p>(1) Obvious Pokemon reference. The original Tail Whip was to lower your opponent's defense, which makes me wonder how that works. I bet the creators just came up with some name and tacked an effect on to it.<p>

(2) Cookie if you can guess where this line comes from. It's a very catchy line, in my opinion.

(3) Acronym for F*** my life. There's a site full of people who'd like to share their accounts of how their lives were screwed by a twist of fate, and while some of them are funny, it's overall depressing.

(4) Reference to Harry Potter, where a Taboo will lock on to anyone who says the Taboo word.

Well, my muse for this came rushing back in one whole shot! And I didn't want it to fade, so I sat down at my laptop and blasted this chapter out as fast as I could. To those of you who were waiting for an update on this, sorry for making you wait so long!

I've been really swamped at school recently, and my midterms have just ended. Still, there's much work to be done, and even more fics to be read! Hence, I don't have much time for writing. *depressed*

But I'll continue to write, so don't worry! Just be patient, and another chapter will come out...

Eventually.


	14. MHF2: The Last Hunt

Sweat pours down my face and the rest of my body underneath my armor as I wait for my prey to surface yet again, running around the place to avoid an ambush from beneath. Taking out a bottle from my pack, I quickly gulp it down and feel coolness wash throughout my body.

The sound of breaking rock from behind alerts me, and I stop and turn around with one hand on my weapon. _Here it comes!_

The Akantor bursts from the hot ground in a spray of magma, crawling out from underneath. I wait for a moment, then rush in and begin slicing away at its tail. The tear that was already there widens, but before I can tear it off, the beast turns, pulling the appendage out of my range.

"Tch." I'm not deterred, and transfer my attention to the body part that has replaced the tail as my target: its head.

With a snap, the remaining large tusk on its lower jaw breaks off, and the Akantor rears back. I quickly dart in underneath its body and slash at the hind leg, unleashing all the fury I built up. As it comes back down, it suddenly stumbles as the limb gives way beneath it, and I quickly roll out of the way to avoid getting crushed underneath its bulk.

I take a few swings at its hind feet as I run past it, before hacking off the tail. The Akantor screeches and wriggles forward slightly as part of its body falls away, the pain galvanizing it into sudden movement. Seizing the opportunity, I grab my carving knife and began cutting away at the thick carapace, ignoring the burning heat of it.

The roar is barely in time to warn me; I perform a rare jumping dive to avoid its furious charge, turning it into a roll to get back on my feet quickly. Reaching into my item pouch again, I find my last Flash Bomb and flick it out as the Akantor turns around for another try.

_Gotcha. _I cover my eyes with my left arm, relying on its annoyed roar to let me know that I managed to blind it. _Time to finish this._

The blind period for an Akantor is short, but against something of its caliber, those few seconds as very precious. Blood flies as my Smolder Dragon Sword bites into its face several times, and a few spatters hiss when they hit the ground behind me, as I dodge a bite attempt to savage its left foreleg. A fierce stab causes it to flinch, and a cry of pain escapes its jaws when I twist the blade while pulling the weapon out.

_It's turning! _I realize, and move instinctively; bracing my feet on the ground for a good foundation, I throw my body into a spin, and swing the Long Sword in a powerful horizontal strike.

I feel almost no resistance when the Akantor's turning brings its head in contact with the weapon, but the beast suddenly rears up, and lets loose a death wail.

"TIMBERRRRRRR!" I yell out, dashing to the side quickly.

The cloud of dust that rises up from the beast's fall is huge indeed, and I grab another Cool Drink to wash the taste out of my mouth. I take a moment to gaze upon my latest conquest, before advancing on it with my knife at the ready.

_Soon. Very soon. _The thought runs through my head as I tear into the carcass.

When I return back to my house in Pokke, I unsheathe my blade within the confines of my room, and slash across a board mounted on the wall. Only the tip of the Dragon Sword makes contact; the word I was aiming for now has a straight slash running across it. Above the new mark, there are many other similar marks, some of them just as thick as the latest, some thinner. Below it however, only one line remains before the end of the board.

* * *

><p><strong>Part 8: The Final Trophy<strong>

It was the work of months. Months where I hunted beasts and carved spoils from their dead bodies. Months where I visited my farm to strip it off any materials I could get. Months where I trained my ass off just so I could survive whatever I got into. Months where I barely slept in my bed more than a single night in a row. Months... where I could barely remember the place I was working this hard to return to.

Of course, it's not like I've totally forgotten, considering that I encounter counterparts of some of the Touhou girls in this world every day. But no matter how much they look like the ones I know, there's always the subtle difference that reminds me that I am working for a purpose. Sometimes, I wish I hadn't encountered Rumia that night, or else I wouldn't have ended up here in the first place.

I can certainly say that I've changed quite a bit since I first came here. The rich food I've been eating combined with the intense workout I go through nearly constantly has given me a body that has nearly no fat on it, and a whole lot of muscle. My lean frame prevents me from looking like a bodybuilder, but I'm definitely buff. Considering I didn't neglect the more exotic aspects of my training, the amount of power I'm able to put out is definitely much higher than before. Wonder what sort of reaction I'll get when the Gensokyo girls see me now.

Apart from my body, I think my Ki has developed to the point where I can probably go against Meiling three times as long as I could before, and my magical skills would probably not make Patchy give me that 'why am I wasting my time on you' look. I also practiced my cooking skills, learning some of the foundations behind the secret Felyne recipes to expand my repertoire. It does help quite a lot when I need to eat out in the field.

Anyway, in the space of those months, I managed to gather the various Rubies and Jewels that Yukari needed, plus a few more to improve my weapons and armor. Granted, with my extra abilities like Ki and magic empowering me, there wasn't much of a need for that, but every little bit helps against the stronger enemies. I never knew a Khezu's rubbery hide could be so freaking TOUGH!

Scrounging up the materials for the upgrades was quite tedious, to be honest, but not as bad as actually trying to get the Rubies themselves! It got to the point when the Guild people made it a point to reserve all such missions for me...

_"Another Tower quest for you, sir. Good luck, maybe this time you'll get a Ruby from that Gold Rathian."_

Like that.

I heard rumors that my cursing when I failed to get the Ruby was audible for miles around.

Of course, that wasn't all I hunted. I also took down the Elder Dragons, one of which was (not really) surprisingly named Kushalamaru Ayara. The resemblance to the Aya Shameimaru I knew wasn't really much; a red bulge on its forehead and two lengths of white hair trailing down its neck, which I barely paid attention to considering that every single one of them was intent on ripping me to pieces with the winds they controlled. Well, I was intent on beating them down in the first place, but let's just ignore that...

I also took down a number of Teostras, mainly because the Kaiser Armor looks totally badass, but also because I wanted a companion set to the Empress Armor set I made from beating Lunastras while waiting for the right missions to come up. And of course, the rest of the Elder Dragons as well.

My constant successes have made Pokke very prosperous, and my name quite famous. Alice, Satori, and Tewi all brought me increasingly powerful partners to bring along on my hunts, another helpful factor to have. As for my fame, it was nothing on the level of 'Magic Gunner' Marisa, but definitely enough that people know my name if not my face. And with the fame came better partners, like the aforementioned Gunner girl. No Master Sparks, luckily, but she's quite a sight to see when she's unleashing hellfire on her target; makes me wonder how the 'magic' part got tacked onto her nickname.

She isn't the only one I've been working with. My favorite little Oni Suika is also part of the group too, wearing Rajang-originated armor with that heavy spiked club that's made from Rajang materials as well. From what I know about this world's Suika, she's some kind of artificial crossbreed with Rajang genes in her, granting her super strength and the ability to fire giant balls of electricity from her hands when she winds up an arm and punches out. I'm guessing she's got Thunder Sacs in her wrist or something, but I never asked.

Her counterpart Yuugi has genes from a Kirin and some Fire Dragon, which causes her to exude a strange aura of heat and static. Said aura creates strange phenomena sometimes, from ball lightning and an auto-heat field that allows her to go without Hot Drinks, to explosions and lightning bolts that go off out of nowhere, usually when she's embroiled in battle against an enemy. The latter effects somehow seem to have a high chance to hitting her prey for some reason. Like Suika, she's also freakishly strong, and she uses that strength with the Imperial Thundersword.

I met the both of them during a brief stopover at a Guild outpost on the way back from a quest, and my first reaction was to approach them for a drinking contest. Needless to say, I lost, but at least I gave a good showing then. From there on, we exchanged Guild Cards, and met up for the occasional hunt, usually against the really BIG monsters.

And these are the other three members of my group for this hunt. I ate a heavy meal, played with the pet pig that Tewi brought along with her one day; I have a secret hope that maybe some of her Gensokyo counterpart's luck rubbed off on it, and by extension me. As I walk towards the Guild Hall to receive the quest, waving towards those who greet me as I go, I can't help but ponder the fact that none of them have the slightest idea of what I'm intending to face next.

The lady behind the desk pales when she reads the notice, and strongly wishes me good luck before handing me my balloon pass. The man piloting the balloon gives me a disbelieving look, probably wondering why I'm headed for that place.

Castle Schrade. Also known as the place where the Fatalis dwells.

_Come to think of it, I didn't really beat this dragon on the PSP that much..._ I muse as the scenery flows by underneath. _Then again, that was probably because I didn't really have that many people to team up with. That's not happening this time..._

Upon reaching the outpost, I realize that the other members of my team have yet to arrive, so I settle down at a table to wait. My pensive mood is picked up by the other hunters, and they leave me alone to sit elsewhere.

Marisa arrives first, and her entrance is marked by muttering from the other hunters as they recognize her puffy clothes and large hat. Hanging from behind is something that looks like a cross between a broom and a cannon. I have no idea what type of Bowgun she's using, except that it falls under the Heavy class, but it works well enough for her, which is enough for me. She catches sight of me and takes a seat across from me, a wide grin on her face.

"Why so serious -ze?" She asks, with the same verbal tic her Gensokyo version has.

I raise one eyebrow. "Need you ask? You've taken one of them down before, right?"

She nods. "Did it with Reimu, in fact. That's what we were famous for. It was super tough -ze."

"Any tips?" I inquire.

"Ehehe... I kinda forgot... I just kept shooting until all I had left was Normal Shot, and even then, it didn't go down easy."

_Well, that works too... _"So, fast kill or try for breaking?"

"Breaking -ze! Gets more rewards that way!"

_I should have expected that... _I continue to chat with her while waiting for the last two members of our group to turn up.

Suika and Yuugi come in together, both grinning widely, and slightly drunk by the blush on their faces. It makes me wonder if I'm the only one who's feeling the tension about having to take on a Fatalis. Even as I watch, Suika heads over to one of the servers as asks the woman to fill up her gourd. As for Yuugi, she comes over to where Marisa and I are.

"Yo. How's things?"

I shrug. "You know, the usual."

"I'm trying to get some Rubies -ze." Marisa answers.

"We were running low on cash, so we decided to take this job. It's sure to pay a lot." Yuugi smirks, but it looks sheepish.

_Spent too much on alcohol... _I shake my head and get up. "Shall we go then?"

"Let's go -ze!"

Suika gets her gourd back, and joins us as we make our way to the exit. I don't say anything, but pat her on the head as she tilts it back to take a gulp from the purple vessel. She grins at me, but doesn't object to it. I've got quite a close bond with her, just like I do with the Gensokyo version.

The transport taking us to Castle Schrade is a cart instead of a balloon, mainly because it's a bad idea to ride one when the Fatalis occupies the skies around there.

We have a simple conversation as the cart rolls onwards, but once the dark skies start to approach, all of us fall silent; we can sense the dark presence of the dragon itself. But it's not from fear. The tension that falls over us comes from excitement, the excitement that comes from an impending faceoff against a superior opponent.

The structure itself is like two stadiums joined to each other, with the giant castle gate dividing the two. We get down at a small stone building on the outskirts, and make our way onwards through an underground passageway. It's a long walk, and eventually somebody breaks the silence.

"So, what stuff did you bring?"

"Two Mega Juice, full Potion stock, some Lifepowders, plus Bombs and materials for more." I answer.

"Same, but I got some of those Seeds and stuff instead of the bombs." Yuugi says.

"Me too." Suika adds.

"I'm carrying ammo and materials to make more, so I only have Potions and some meat." Marisa chimes in. "But then I'm going to stay far back, so that doesn't matter -ze!"

At the end of the tunnel is a flight of stairs that we ascend, and at the top is the door that leads into the base camp area. Everything's all stocked up; the item box has stuff for all of us, there are enough cannonballs if we want to use the cannons, plus ballista shots as well.

The pressure we sensed earlier is starting to increase. "It's noticed us. The Fatalis is coming closer."

Yuugi nods. "Yeah, I feel it too."

"Everyone ready?" I ask, looking around.

"Anytime!" Marisa holds out a thumbs-up.

"Ready to smash!" Suika swings her club out with one hand, an unnerving sight given the fact that the thing is taller than she is, yet was being wielded so easily.

"Let's go!" Yuugi leads the charge.

Of course, the Fatalis isn't there yet, so we're left standing out there looking a bit foolish as the wind blows through the place. Marisa stays on the platform, keeping out of the way and an eye out for the Fatalis.

I can't help humming the theme for One-Winged Angel, because it seems to fit the mood of the place. I'm sure if I put my mind to it, I could find lyrics to fit the current situation as well.

"Stop humming, will you?" Yuugi frowns at me. "It's not helping."

"Sorry." I apologize.

"It's here!" Suika shouts, her tone oddly cheerful as she points towards the Dragonator.

Focusing my vision, I see the flickering of wings as the dragon itself appears over the roof, flying towards us. Within moments, it's above the first courtyard and slowly descending towards us.

"Bombs!" I bark, and immediately start setting mine up.

Suika and Yuugi are already doing the same, and we finish not a moment too soon. Running out of the way, I raise my hand in the air as a signal. Before the Fatalis can land, there's a brief flash, and the Barrel Bombs go up in a burst of fire. With a screech, the Elder Dragon falls down.

_Something of that level would have severely weakened a Rathalos, but against a Fatalis..._

The direction it was facing in puts Yuugi as the one closest to its extended head, and she quickly runs in to swing an overhead strike down at the offered target. There's a burst of lightning, but it doesn't penetrate at all. As for Suika and I, we're at the sides, and launch our own attacks on the legs. The impact of Suika's club makes an intimidating noise, while my Ki-enhanced sword actually scrapes off some of its scales before actually managing to cut shallowly into the limb.

"It's getting up!" Yuugi warns, retreating slightly.

Something impacts the side of the Fatalis's face, and an explosion engulfs the head. However, I skip aside to avoid the sudden turn the rest of the body makes; the Fatalis wasn't affected by Marisa's attack in the slightest. On the opposite side, Yuugi does the same to avoid the tail.

"YAH!" I stab forward, only to have something impossibly hard stop my blade before it even manages to penetrate its inner organs. _So hard! It's tougher than a Khezu's!_

It takes some effort to rip the embedded point free, before I have to roll aside to dodge a sudden lunge. The amount of air that movement displaces is enough to let me feel a stiff breeze. Considering that the movement wasn't that fast, the force behind that movement must be nothing short of incredible.

The Fatalis screeches, and I suddenly get a powerful sense of foreboding.

"Get back!" I shout, instinctively using my Ki to jump back several meters at a time.

The move helps me narrowly avoid a Snap and Drag, one of the Fatalis's worst moves. From what I can see, the other two managed to stay safe as well, and are running alongside waiting for a chance to go in and attack again. The last of us isn't so restricted though.

"KYAHAHAHA! COME AND TAKE IT -ZE!" Marisa's gleeful screams accompany the explosions of Crag Shots bursting along the Fatalis's hide.

And she's not restricted in another sense.

"It's stopping! Go, go, go!" Yuugi yells, already leading the charge.

True enough, the Fatalis is raising itself up, facing Marisa.

"Watch out for fireballs!" She calls out, taking backward skips along the elevated wall.

_Oh yeah, she should know about that. _

In the moment it takes to fire one searing ball of flame, the Fatalis takes several heavy attacks from us. However, like before, the dragon simply shrugs them off. As for the fireball, it explodes when it hits the target, but doesn't do any damage to Marisa since she's out of the blast range.

The next several minutes sees the four of us doing our best to deal what little damage we can to the beast, even as it tries to crush us or set us on fire. We manage to shatter the horns and scar its eye when it gets trapped under the castle gate trying to follow us through it. Whenever it tries to go for Marisa, we take advantage of the opening that presents to damage it even more, which was how we were able to scar its chest. Occasionally one of its attacks will slip through when we're not careful, but our armor prevents the damage from being critical, and we have enough items to recover from the damage.

For the 'Magic Gunner', she does a good job of harrying the dragon. Occasionally she would go back into the base camp to avoid its attention, and when she came back out, it was with a cannonball. One of those times happened to hit the Fatalis just as it took to the air, and we manage to tear the webbing on its wings. But despite all the damage we've dealt, the Fatalis remains just as vicious as ever.

"Isn't it enough yet?" I pant, gulping down my Mega Juice.

"Just die already!" Suika shares my sentiments, punctuating her words with a lightning ball from her fist.

"Burn, dammit!" Yuugi yells, and her strike is accompanied by bursts of fire around her.

Neither of their special abilities faze the Fatalis, not even when I focus a huge amount of Ki into a single punch where I guessed its lung might be.

"I'm outta Clust too! Switching to Pierce!" Marisa calls out to inform us.

I jab a finger at the Dragonator. "Get over there and wait!"

"Roger!"

The next one to say something is Suika. "It's taking off again!"

"Crap! Be careful, everyone!" All three of us melee attackers immediately pop Armor Pills.

The Fatalis when it's in flight is a troublesome opponent. Its tail allows it to hit us, while only Marisa is capable of attacking it without taking damage from the lashing body part. Still, it's a much more preferable attack compared to the fireball the Fatalis launches at those further away from it.

We keep swinging our weapons randomly at the tail, scoring the occasional hit while taking some ourselves. Yuugi's aura ability manages to call down a lightning strike, but apart from a slight falter, the Fatalis remains unmoved. And still firing fireballs at a racing Marisa, who joins us beneath the dragon in short order.

"YOW! That was dangerous -ze!" Part of her hat is singed. "Sorry, I couldn't stay up there -ze." She apologizes to me.

"No problem. Just be care- FUL!" I shove her out of the way, and get launched into the air by the tail whip.

Crashing heavily on the ground, I quickly roll to my feet and look up, just in time to see flames curl out from inside the Fatalis's jaws.

_SHIT! _I dive aside as the spot where I was standing on explodes in a fiery conflagration. _Crap, wrong way! I headed away from it!_

"It's after you! RUN!" I don't know who was the one who said that, but it's obviously very good advice, and I follow it right away.

Fireballs continue to explode in my wake as I run towards the Dragonator, and I soon realize that the Fatalis is trying to aim where I'm going to be, making my job of avoiding it much harder.

_It's just like danmaku back in Gensokyo... Speaking of which, I really think I should get back into practicing that when I return. _I think to myself while dodging more shots. _From the sounds behind me, Marisa's keeping up the pressure by shooting it from below, but will it be enough?_

Managing to jump on the elevated platform, I turn and lock eyes with the dreaded Elder Dragon, who happens to be right in front of the Dragonator. And I'm right in front of the button that activates it.

"Eat this, you piece of shit." I tell it coldly, and hit the button.

I wince as a deafening whine of grinding metal accompanies the powerful thrust of the Dragonator; the spinning piece of sharp metal smashes straight into the Fatalis's head with a crunching noise. The Elder Dragon's wings freeze for a moment, and without them to keep it flying, the Fatalis falls to the ground.

"Hey! Watch it! We were under there, you know!" Marisa complains, already loading up her next round of ammo.

"Shut up and whack it already!" Yuugi shouts back.

Jumping down to join them, I keep aiming my attacks at the head, doing small stab attacks in between the heavy pounding Suika and Yuugi were.

"Die, die, die, DIE!" Yuugi keeps chanting as she swung her heavy weapon over and over.

"Eat my penetrating magic shots!" Marisa adds.

"I want to drink my sake~" Suika moans.

"Drink after we kill it!" I shout back. "Back off, it's recovering!"

We split off into two pairs, attacking the Fatalis from either side. Occasionally, one of us would break off to sharpen our weapon, which had gotten blunt from trying to penetrate the giant lizard's tough hide. And yet the Fatalis showed no signs of falling.

I check the timer on my arm gear. _It's nearly twenty-five minutes... I can't remember when the Fatalis escapes... is it soon?_

"It's flying again! Shoot it! Shoot it!"

Looking up, I realize the Fatalis is going higher than normal. _Oh shit, it really is escaping!_

"Just give a me a second to reload -ze!" Marisa pulls out something from her item pouch and jams it into her weapon before cocking it. "Have a taste of Marisa Kirisame's specially made super shot! I call it the-"

I suddenly have a thrill of foreboding as I watch Marisa lean back to bring the dragon within her sights.

"-SPARK SHOT!"

Unlike the real Master Spark, this one isn't multicolored. Rather, it's more like a magma-spewing eruption, or a long-range Wyvern Fire. Whatever it looks like, it hits the Fatalis hard and actually knocks it out of the air.

"Woah!" I can only say.

For the other two, they cheer and raise their weapons, running towards the downed Fatalis. I join them a beat later. Marisa stays out of it, shouting something about her Bowgun needing time to recover.

_Yep, definitely a modification based off Wyvern's Fire._ I think moments before joining the Onis in beating down the Fatalis.

Whatever was in that Bowgun Shot, I have to say that it did work. The Fatalis finally dies after the beatdown, and we get to carving it up.

"Whoo! That, was, TIRING!" Marisa remarks as she works on the head next to me. "Good thing I packed my own personal ammo, huh?"

"Isn't that against Guild rules?" Suika asks from where she's carving out the chest.

"Yes, and that means I'm going to have my license revoked and my things confiscated..." Marisa admits.

There's a brief moment of silence, before all four of us laugh loudly at the absurdity of that possibility.

The balloon comes for us before I can get my full worth from the Fatalis corpse, but there's still the reward to consider, so I'm not too bothered. We kick back and relax once we're on the way back to the outpost.

"Man~ That was ti~ring..." Suika takes large gulps from her gourd.

"Good thing you brought that along, huh?" Yuugi says to Marisa, who nods.

"Toughest fight I've had so far..." I groan. "But I think it the rewards was worth it."

So saying, I look at the Fatalis Eye I managed to extract from its skull. It was the last piece I needed for Yukari to send me back. Closing my fingers around it to hide its baleful stare, I tilt my head backwards.

_Soon._

* * *

><p>"Here's the last one." I hand the small box over to Yukari. "How long more do I have to wait?"<p>

"Not very, actually." The gap youkai informs me pleasantly.

Normally, I'd do something like throw the damn thing at her. But I don't want to accidentally destroy the thing, and have to hunt the bloody Fatalis all over again. Better to play it polite, and get back faster.

"So, how did you enjoy your life here?" Yukari asks me.

"Well... it's not too bad, but I really think I prefer Gensokyo more." I scratch the back of my head. "Wouldn't mind bringing back some of these things with me though."

"Why not?"

"Eh?" I look at her more closely. "Are you serious?"

"Of course I am. But obviously you can't bring everything with you."

I chuckle. "Hahaha... yeah, that would be asking too much."

In the end, she allows me to bring two sets of armors plus six weapons, which I divide evenly across the three weapon classes of Long Swords, Dual Blades, and Sword & Shield. I also bring along a few seeds and potions for Eirin to examine and perhaps duplicate. It takes me a while to pack them all up, but eventually I'm ready to return to Gensokyo.

I also told the rest of the villagers that I was going to be off for a while, and asked them to look after things over here for me. I'm not sure if I'm going to come back or not, but at least they won't think I'm gone for good. As it is, my Felynes and Usagis will be cared for. They earned that much with what they've done for me.

"Okay, I'm ready." I tell her.

"Then, see you back on the other side." Yukari gestures at me with the box-

_Wait, she didn't even use it! _I realize. _That means she didn't even need it!_

-just as a gap opens up underneath me.

"DAMMIT YUKARIIIIII-!" I yell as I fall down.

The fall through the darkness ends abruptly, and I land in a sparsely wooded area. Getting up and looking around, I catch sight of a few familiar spots from a nearby cliff, as well as a familiar figure soaring through the air high above me.

I smile widely. _I'm back, Gensokyo._

* * *

><p>Well, after so many months, and countless interruptions from RL, I've finally finished this story arc. What better enemy to end it with than the Fatalis, right? Well, there are the Crimson and White versions, but I consider those the special types... So just the Black one.<p>

Anyway, I've recently started at my job, under a probation period with a requirement where I have to fill up a learning log that has a lot of stuff to fill, plus it's a 6 day work week, so I obviously have lots of my time taken up. Besides, I've been feeling kind of apathetic lately, so my muse hasn't been around... Suffice to say, it'll be quite a while before I'll update again in ANY of my stories, even my popular FateProphecy Break.

Still, I'll be rereading my Keys to the Heart so I know where I left off, then I can continue writing for it. So to all of you readers who follow that fanfic, please look forward to it!


End file.
